


A to Z Jay Halstead Whump

by Otter_Love_ASL



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Upstead, halstead brothers, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 85,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24938983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otter_Love_ASL/pseuds/Otter_Love_ASL
Summary: One-shots of Jay Halstead being injured, sick, or mentally tortured.  Follows no specific season and unrelated unless otherwise mentioned.  Every chapter is at least 3,000 words. (F to C conversions are in the end notes)
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead
Comments: 20
Kudos: 102





	1. A is for Arguments & Appendicitis

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: Early Season 6  
> Completed: Feb. 28, 2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Halstead argument leads to hospitalization and not in the expected way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Early Season 6  
> Completed: Feb. 28, 2020

"Hey, who's hitting Molly's?" Adam Ruzek asks the rest of the unit after a long day, where they seemed to always be one step behind their suspect. Kim and Kevin quickly agree to go. "Antonio, come on."

"Not today. I have Eva and Diego tonight," he responds.

"Hailey? Jay?"

"I'm in," Hailey answers, "Jay, you coming?" She asks her partner.

"No. Not today, next time"

"Jay, come one? What do you have better to do tonight?" Adam pressures.

"I told Will I would have dinner with them," he answers.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, next time. Sorry Ruze," Jay apologizes, even if he is slightly annoyed with the young officer.

When Voight dismisses them for the day, Adam, Kim, Kevin, and Antonio quickly head down the stairs. The former three wanting a head start on Molly's, and the latter wanting to get home to see his children.

Hailey hangs back with Jay, "Are you sure everything is okay Jay? Do you need to do our thing?" She asks her partner concerned.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Adam's just getting on my nerves."

"Okay, but you would tell me if something were wrong, right?" She questions, not wanting him to go rouge again.

"Yes, Hailey. I would tell you if something was wrong. I'm just tired. You should go before they start without you," Jay tells her.

"Okay," Hailey says slowly, not completely convinced that he's telling her everything. "Text or call me if you need anything," she tells him sternly before leaving.

* * *

Natalie opens the door, after hearing Jay knock, "Hey, Jay. Come in, it's freezing out," she orders while ushering him inside.

Walking inside, Jay feels a force plowing into his legs, "Uncle Jay," a small voice exclaimed.

"Owen," Jay grinned, picking up his nephew and settling him on his right hip. Even after the worst day, seeing everything that he does in his line of work, seeing his soon-to-be nephew always seems to make him forget about it, even if only for a little while. Wincing a little when he feels a sharp pain in his side, Jay shifts Owen to his left side.

"Jay," Will calls when he comes down the steps. "What did you do to get Owen to like you?" Will asks his brother, referring to the child who's content in his uncle's arms.

Jay grins, "I was always the better liked Halstead," he jokes.

"Sure you were," Will sarcastically agrees.

Natalie interrupts the brothers before things can get out of hand, "Boys, settle down. I need to finish dinner, try not to kill each other and keep an eye on Owen," Natalie tells them, before going back into the kitchen.

The boys go into the family room and turn on the sports highlights of the Cubs afternoon game, Owen still attached to Jay.

They go into the kitchen when Natalie calls them for dinner. The three adults catch up with each other, Will and Natalie eating their dinner, while Jay only eats a little before he starts picking at it, noticing that his stomach is slightly upset.

Natalie notices first, "Does it taste okay, Jay?"

"Yeah, just not that hungry," he answers. "Sorry." This catches Will's attention.

"Are you alright?" Will asks, knowing it's not like his brother to not be hungry.

"Yeah, just tired," he answers. Will not accepting his answer goes to reach for his forehead, but Jay quickly moves out of the way. "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you have a temperature."

"Stop. I can take care of myself," Jay yells at his brother.

"I never said that you couldn't," Will yells back, the Halstead temper getting the better of both brothers.

"Just stop it! You're not responsible for me!"

"Yes, I am! You're my little brother! Mom made sure I knew it was my job to watch out for you!"

"Don't bring her up! You left! You weren't here for her when she was dying! You were out partying!"

"You weren't here either!"

"I left to fight a war! I tried to come back, but I couldn't get leave!" At this point, Natalie takes Owen and leaves the room to let the brothers work this out between themselves.

"You were always her favorite! You were her precious baby boy!"

"Mom didn't have a favorite! If anything, Dad always favored you! Nothing I did made him proud!"

"Dad and I didn't have the best relationship and you know that!"

"You made up! He _told_ you that he was proud of you!"

"He-"

"He died thinking that I hated him! You have everything! You got your relationship with dad back, you could have been here for mom when she was dying, your girlfriend didn't leave you!"

"Are you-"

"I don't see why you wanted to reconnect when you came back! You have a perfect life; I'm just your screwed-up brother! You can easily move on and forget about me! It wouldn't be the first time!" That last statement hits Will hard, making him feel like he got slapped. Both brothers' faces red from anger.

Jay feeling worse leaves before Will can say anything else. Getting in his car he drives off. Not knowing where to go, he finds himself instinctively driving towards Hailey's house- her house is safe. Not wanting to be alone, but also not having anyone else.

Arriving at Hailey's, he hopes that he won't be bothering her, but sees that her car is not there. He gets out of his car and sits on her steps waiting for her to come back, afraid that if he stayed in his car, he would leave and do something stupid.

* * *

Hailey pulls up a half an hour later to find Jay sitting on her steps, looking like someone kicked his puppy. Looking like he is in a trance, Hailey approaches cautiously, not wanting to startle the former Ranger. "Hey, Jay," she starts, continuing when he looks at her. "How long have you been sitting here?" Jay only gives her a blank look. "Come on, let's go inside, you're going to get sick if you stay out here."

Hailey manages to pull him up, noting that he is freezing to the touch, and guide him to the couch. Forcing him to sit own before he goes to the hall closet in search of a blanket for him. Draping the blanket over his shoulders, she tries getting something out of him, "I'm going to make you something warm to drink. Do you have any preference? I have hot chocolate, tea, or coffee." Not receiving an answer, Hailey makes an executive decision to make tea.

Bringing it back to her partner who hasn't moved, she hands him the cup, "Here. Drink this, it'll help you warm up." Hailey is glad he listens to her when he takes a drink. "Did something happen at Will's?"

Jay, still in his trance-like state answers, "I messed up."

"Okay. Tell me what happened so I can help you."

"We got into an argument. It was stupid, he hates me now. He's the only family I have left," Jay answers, while the beginning of a panic attack approach.

Hailey sensing what is about to happen starts to rub circles on his back in hopes to ground him, "He doesn't hate you. He might be mad for a while, but he could never hate you."

"You don't know that."

"You just said it yourself, you're the only family each other has left."

"No. that's not true. Will has Natalie and Owen now."

"You're his brother. He cares about you." They sit there for a while, both finishing their tea; Hailey is happy when Jay stops shivering. Treading carefully, Hailey asks what the argument was about.

"I don't remember how it started, but it turned into about our parents. I questioned why he wanted to reconnect when he's just going to leave again." Before Hailey can respond, Jay speaks urgently, "I'm going to be sick," rushing to the bathroom, leaving Hailey stunned on the couch.

Coming to her senses, Hailey follows Jay. Standing outside of the closed door, she can hear the sound of him being sick. "Jay," she calls while knocking on the door, "Can I come in?" Receiving only a moan she tells him that she is coming in. Hailey finds him leaning over the toilet. Hailey rubs his back once again while he is reduced to dry-heaves. "Done?" she questions.

"I think. Sorry," he apologizes.

"Not your fault," she tells him while handing him a cup of water, "rinse and spit." Jay does what he is told. Looking her partner over, she notices that he is pale, but flushed; not knowing if it is still from the cold, she asks, "Are you feeling alright? You look flushed."

"I wasn't feeling great at Will's," Jay admits.

At this Hailey places her hand on his forehead, "You feel a little warm. I can't check it right now because of the water. Do you want to go back to the couch? It's more comfortable." Jay nods and they go back to the couch.

Hailey turns on the television to a soccer game, Chicago Fire versus Columbus Crew. "What makes you think that Will doesn't hate me?" Jay asks after a while.

Looking at him, so he can read her eyes, she confidently states, "Because I've seen the two of you together before. And I have two older brothers, siblings may get annoyed at each other, but we can never hater each other." Jay seems to accept her answer.

After the game ends, Jay gets up, "I should go," only to be stopped.

"No. I don't trust you by yourself right now. You know where the spare room is."

"Hailey…"

"Go, and check your temperature first," handing him the thermometer she brought out with them. Jay sticks it in his mouth, under Hailey's watchful eye. When it beeps, Hailey holds her hand out, Jay gives it to her, knowing better than trying to lie.

"What is it?"

"100.4, not bad. There's some Tylenol in the medicine cabinet," Hailey tells him before making him go to bed.

* * *

The pain in his side becoming more pronounced, Jay takes the Tylenol hoping that it will help. He falls into a restless sleep, tossing and turning, fighting the rising nausea.

Jay wakes up a few hours later, rushing into the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet, trying to not wake up Hailey. When he is finished, Jay leans back, trying to catch his breath. Gathering his composer, Jay goes back to the spare bedroom, hoping to sleep for the rest of the night.

This happened three more times throughout the night. Finally falling asleep around five.

* * *

Hailey wakes up at six-thirty, going to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Once in the kitchen, she is surprised that it is still dark. Normally, when Jay crashes at her place, he is up and went on a run before she is even up.

At seven-fifteen, there is still no sign of Jay. Hailey goes to wake Jay, wanting to give him enough time so he isn't rushing. Knocking on the door, she receives no answer, so she walks in. Jay is out cold, so she turns on the lights, hoping that would wake him up. When that doesn't work, she calls his name.

"Wha'?" Jay answers.

"It's quarter past seven."

"That's late."

"I know. You coming to work today, or you need a ride home?"

"I'm going. Give me ten."

* * *

True to his word, Jay appears ten minutes later. "Ready to go?" He questions Hailey.

"Go where?"

"To work," he answers like it is the obvious answer.

"Not yet, you need to eat."

"Not hungry," Jay mumbles.

"Are you feeling okay? You still look a bit flushed," she asks while reaching out to feel his forehead.

"I'm fine," he lies before dodging her hand.

"If you're fine, then you're going to eat. You lost anything that you ate yesterday. If you don't eat, I'll tell Voight that you're not a hundred percent and he will bench you," Hailey threatens him.

"Hailey…"

"Jay, please. I'll make you toast if you're still not feeling great." Reluctantly, Jay gives in.

"Thanks," Jay tells Hailey when she places the toast in front of him.

Jay slowly eats under Hailey's watchful eye, hoping that his stomach won't reject the food. Once he finishes, they both get in Hailey's car, Jay not wanting to argue with her again this early, and drive to the district.

Arriving at the district, they go up to the intelligence bullpen and realize that they don't have a case and are going to be catching up on paperwork.

* * *

The day goes by slowly, when lunch creeps up Hailey offers to go on a lunch run. Everyone gives her their orders, except for Jay.

"Jay," Hailey gets his attention, "I'm going on a lunch run. What do you want?"

"Not hungry."

"Okay, do you want to ride with me?"

"No."

"How you are feeling?"

"Fine." Hailey sighs, before going to the deli to get everyone's food.

At the deli, Hailey orders what everyone asked for and gets Jay a container of soup.

* * *

Back at the district, Hailey hands out the food to the correct person, giving Jay a look when she hands him the container. He mutters a _thanks_ , before attempting to eat it.

Everyone, except Jay, happily takes a break from their paperwork to eat. The unit spends their lunch break, talking about lighter subjects than what they would normally encounter on the job.

Going back to their paperwork when they finish, Jay is concentrating on his breathing trying to keep his stomach from turning.

His breathing trick works until it doesn't. Feeling like he is going to lose this battle, he jumps out of his set to head for the restroom. Adam, being Adam sees this and stops him, "Jay, man where you going?" He asks blocking his path.

"Ruzek, move," Jay orders him, using as little words as he can, feeling the contents of his stomach making their way up his throat.

"No, where you going? Leaving us with this paperwork," he insists, not noticing Jay's face pale. The rest of the unit has stopped to watch at this point. Jay covers his mouth with his hand, trying not to throw up in front of the unit.

Antonio, being a dad, knows what is about to happen, quickly gets the trash can from his desk and puts it in front of Jay just as Jay loses the contents of his stomach. He older detective rubs the younger man's back. "Kevin, Kim, Adam, why don't you check the inventory," Antonio says, discreetly trying to get them out of the bullpen.

Once the three officers leave, it is only the detectives in the room. Antonio grabs a chair for him to sit, "Hailey, can you get some paper towels?" When Hailey leaves he turns his attention back to Jay, "How do you feel now? You don't look great."

"Hurts."

"Here," Hailey hands him the paper towels. After cleaning up, Hailey asks, "Jay were you sick at all through the night?" He holds up four fingers. "You should be at home."

"Jay, I'm going to call Will to pick you up," Antonio tells him.

"No."

"They got into an argument last night. He crashed at my place," Hailey informs the senior detective.

"What hurts Bud?"

"Side."

Antonio becomes concerned at this, "Here?" he questions pushing at Jay's lower right abdomen. Jay flinches and cries out when Antonio makes contact, giving him his answer. "We need to get him to Med, it might be his appendix," he informs Hailey.

"No," Jay whimpers.

"Sorry, but it's the closest hospital Bud."

"I'll get the car." Hailey leaves while Antonio helps Jay into a standing position. Slowly they make their way down the stairs and to the car that Hailey pulled up.

Headed to Med with the lights and sirens blaring, Antonio drives while Hailey sits in the back with Jay.

* * *

Arriving at Med, Antonio drops off the two partners while he parks the car.

Maggie sees them and brings over a wheelchair for Jay, "Treatment two." Getting into a room fairly fast since Hailey called in the car.

Antonio and Hailey get Jay into the room, helping him onto the bed. Maggie hands Jay a gown, "Put this on Jay. April will be in in a moment to get vitals," she tells him before leaving and handing Hailey the forms to fill out.

"After a moment April opens the curtain, "Hey Jay, I'm just going to get a set of vitals on you, then Ethan going to take a look. Sound good?"

Jay just nods. "No latex," Jay manages to speak.

"Okay," she acknowledges. April swipes a thermometer across Jay's forehead, "101.6." She then takes his pulse and blood pressure, making a note of it before Ethan comes in.

"Hey, Jay. Heard you might have a case of appendicitis," Ethan says as he takes the ultrasound to Jay's side. "And it looks like that would be correct. Your appendix looks very agitated." Jay just groans. "I'm going to let pre-op know we're on the way up."

Once in pre-op, Jay had to sign consent forms and was given some IVs. Once an operating room was open, Jay was taken into surgery.

* * *

Seeing Hailey and Antonio in the waiting room Will walks up to them, "Hey, guys. Is everything okay?"

Antonio takes the lead, "Jay wasn't feeling well. They just took him into surgery for his appendix to be removed."

"Why didn't someone call me?" Will yells.

"He didn't want us to. He didn't even want to come here."

"Of course he didn't. He hates hospitals."

"No, he said 'no' to coming to Med, not another hospital."

"He told me about the argument," Hailey tells him, "he thinks you hate him."

"What?" Will is shocked by this revelation. "I should…"

"No. You can't do anything for him, but wait."

* * *

The surgery lasted for two hours, Jay's appendix rupturing just as he was opened up, so after removing the appendix, the area had to be flushed out. Once closed up, Jay was moved to a recovery room and put on some antibiotics to be safe.

Once in a normal room, Hailey and Antonio checked on Jay before going back to work at Will's insistence.

When Jay wakes up a couple of hours later, the first thing he sees is his brother. "Why you here?" He tries to ask.

"To make sure you're okay."

"Why?"

"Because you're my brother. And no matter what stupid argument we get into, nothing is going to change that, or that I love you."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, don't worry about that. Just rest."

"Stay?" Jay asks, feeling like a child.

"I'm not going anywhere," Will promises his brother. Jay takes the previous advice, knowing that things were going to be okay between him and Will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 100.4= 38  
> 101.6= 38.7


	2. Barbeques & Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The annual first responder barbeque can never go as planned when Jay Halstead is involved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Early Season 7  
> Completed: Oct. 28, 2019

It is the annual barbeque between the second shift at Firehouse 51, the intelligence unit of the 21st District, and the day shift of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center's emergency department. This year, there are many changes to who are a part of the barbeque, each domain having changes in their personnel. In Firehouse 51, there was the loss of Otis in the mattress factory fire to the new candidate, Blake Gallo. Antonio, of the Intelligence Unit, moving to Puerto Rico and the arrival of Vanessa Rojas. The changes from the Med family being, Ava committing suicide in the hospital and Connor leaving Chicago after the death of his father and Ava, and Dr. Crockett Marcel moving to the day shift from the night shift of the ED.

Being one of the few times that the different teams are able to intermingle with each other, not on the job, it is something that they all enjoy. The veterans of this barbeque are excited to see how the rookies will interact with people outside of who they work with.

The girls of the group seemed to have made their own circle on blankets, while the guys break off into their different groups.

Being the nice day that it is, there are bees flying around. There is one that seems to like Sylvie Brett, she tries swatting it away from herself, "Brett, leave it alone," Stella Kidd tells her, "It won't bother you if you don't bother it." Sylvie stops swatting at it but keeping an eye on the bug at the same time.

While the girls are in their circle, most of the guys are playing a game of pick-up football. After playing for close to an hour, the guys start to get hungry, so they stop in favor of starting the burgers and dogs.

Everyone brought something with them and Severide took the job of manning the grill for the burgers and dogs. Having the nice weather that the city has decided to gift them with, there are bugs everywhere, trying to land on food and people alike, the food only attracting more of them.

"Food's done," announces Severide. They all start a line to get their food, before mingling back into their own groups.

Jay is sitting with Hailey, Vanessa, Kim, Atwater, and Adam when a bee starts flying around them. Jay is keeping an eye on the bee, not wanting to get stung, as it is flying closer and closer to him. Adam notices and decides to tease him, "Jay, if you leave it alone, it will leave you alone, don't be so paranoid," he says with a laugh. The others laugh at the joke, while Jay only rolls his eyes.

The bee is still flying around the group, landing on its victim, Jay. Jay feels a pinch on his upper arm.

He can feel his face flushing and his throat is becoming scratchy. Hailey notices that her partner is flushed, "Get a bit too much sun?" she jokes, assuming that he got burnt, she hands him a bottle of water when she hears him trying to clear his throat.

Jay tries to take a drink but has trouble swallowing. He coughs, the air easily leaving his lungs, but struggles to get air back into them, causing him to cough more. He can feel his throat starting to close, causing his to wheeze. Being next to him, Hailey can hear the wheezing, "Are you alright?" she asks

Shaking his head, _no_ he looks at her with fear in his eyes. Hearing her partner struggling to breathe, looking at Kim, she orders her, "Get Will now. Something's not right." Kim leaves worried for her friend, while Hailey tries to keep him calm, trying to understand what is happening at the same time.

"Hailey, he's fine," Adam says, not liking that Hailey is so concerned for Jay.

"Adam," Hailey hissed at her ex-boyfriend.

* * *

"Will!" Kim exclaims when finding the older Halstead. "Something's wrong with Jay," is all she needs to say before he rushes over to his brother.

"Jay," he tries, not receiving an answer. He turns to his brother's partner, "Hailey, what happened?"

"I don't know. He was flushed so I gave him some water, but that didn't help. He started coughing and that turned into wheezing. He's really struggling to breathe," Hailey tells the worried older brother, worried herself.

Hearing this, Will looks his brother over, noticing that his arm has hives on it. "Jay, did you get stung? Where's your epi-pen?"

"Epi-pen?" Hailey questions, not knowing that Jay was allergic to anything

"Ba-" is all he can get out. Will rushes to Jay's bag in search of the device. Finding it, Will rushes back, uncapping the device before jamming it into Jay's thigh. Jay takes in a deep breath of air when the medicine starts to kick in. Will grabs his brother while telling someone to call an ambulance.

"Got it," Hailey tells Will, already dialing 911.

"911. What's your emergency?" the operator asks.

"This is Detective Hailey Upton, badge number 55055, of Intelligence- 21st district, off duty. I need an ambulance at Lincoln Park. My partner, also off duty, is suffering from an anaphylactic reaction."

"Okay, Detective Upton. What's your partner's name?"

"Jay Halstead, he's 35."

"And you said that he was experiencing an anaphylactic reaction? Do you know what triggered it, and does he have a history of it?"

"Yes, I don't know. His brother gave him an epi-pen and asked if he got stung. I'd assume there was a history of it, possibly to insect bites."

"Can you put his brother on?"

Hailey looks over at Jay and sees Sylvie and Emily checking Jay over while waiting for the ambulance, Will never leaving his side. "Will," she calls the attention of the older brother, "Dispatch wants to speak with you."

He motions for Hailey to hand him the phone, "Hello, this is Doctor Will Halstead, Detective Halstead's brother."

"Doctor Halstead, Detective Upton didn't have all the information. Do you know what caused your brother to have an anaphylactic reaction and does he have a history of this?"

"There are hives on his arm, so I think it was a bee sting. He has a couple of triggers for an anaphylactic reaction. He does have a history of it, it started when he was maybe five. He also has a history of biphasic reactions. I've administered one epi-pen, 0.3 mg, but he's still struggling quite a bit, I may need to administer the second one."

"Okay, the ambulance is three minutes out, have someone flag the ambulance."

"Hailey, go to the entrance and flag own the ambulance," Will orders her, attention never wavering from his brother. Hailey runs off to the entrance of the park. Will focusing on his brother can hear Jay's struggles starting to worsen again, so he injects the second epi-pen into Jay's other thigh.

Jay is still struggling to catch his breath but seems to be having an easier time taking in air, gripping onto Will like a lifeline. Will, talking to Jay in an attempt to keep him calm until Hailey returns with the paramedics.

Waiting for what seems like forever, but was actually only minutes, Hailey returns with the paramedics. "What do we have?" the first paramedic asks.

"Allergic reaction causing anaphylaxis, I think it was a bee sting," Will informs the paramedic relieved, that his brother is getting help. "I gave him his epi-pen, .3 mg; it helped for a while, then he started to struggle again, so I gave him the second shot- same dosage. He's also allergic to latex," Will warns the paramedics.

While Will was filling in the first paramedic, the second one was getting Jay on the stretcher, getting a set of vitals and placing an oxygen mask over his face. "We're ready to move, who's riding with him?"

"I am," Will answers immediately.

"What's your relationship to him?"

"Brother."

"Okay, we're taking him to East Mercy."

"No. Take him to Med," Will argues.

"East Mercy is closer."

"He's stable, and I trust Med more, I'm a doctor there."

"No we'r-" the second paramedic is cut off by the first.

"We can go to Med." Loading Jay into the ambulance, Will climbs into the back with him before driving off to Med. The intelligence unit packs their thing before heading to Med. Everyone else also decides to call it a day before heading home, not going to the hospital because they don't want to crowd Jay.

* * *

Arriving at Med, they unload Jay, bring him into a treatment room with Will following closely behind. "What do we have?" asked the doctor assigned to his case.

"Anaphylactic reaction to an insect bite," answers the paramedic.

The doctor nods then notices Will. "Doctor Halstead, what are you doing here?"

"He's my brother."

"Okay, then can you tell me what bit him, specifically to cause this reaction."

"Probably a bee. He's also allergic to penicillin and he has a history of biphasic reactions."

"Good to know," the doctor speaks out loud, before turning to the nurse, "Hang a line of antihistamines and transfer the oxygen."

"Okay, Detective Halstead. Because you have a history of biphasic reactions, I'm going to admit you for at least twenty-four hours of observation. If nothing happens, you'll be released before tomorrow night. We'll move you once we have a room ready."

"Thanks," Will speaks for both of them as the doctor leaves.

Will looks over at his brother to see his eyes are getting heavy, "It's okay, Jay. You can sleep." Jay turns on his side to face his brother, being careful of the oxygen mask and oximeter on his finger, before drifting to sleep.

Will watches his brother sleep, peacefully, color slowly returning to normal, while filling out the paperwork that was left with them to be filled out.

After about a half an hour, two orderlies com to move Jay to his room. Jay wakes up briefly when he feels the be move, but quickly goes back to sleep when he hears Will assure him it's okay.

* * *

After getting the information about Jay's new room, Will is mobbed by the intelligence unit.

"How is he?"

"Is he going to be okay?"

"What happened?"

"Where is he?"

Everyone throws their questions at Will at once. Will is touched by the concern that they have for his brother's well-being. He tries to answer all their questions in one go, "He's going to be okay. They just moved him to a room, he's being held for at least twenty-four hours for observation. He was sleeping when they moved him, having an anaphylactic reaction usually makes him tried and knocks him out for a couple of hours after an attack. I think he was stung by a bee. When I got to him at the park, he had hives on his arm."

"Has this happened before?" Hailey asked.

"Unfortunately, yes it has."

Hailey turns to Adam, "You were teasing him," she scolds her ex, while whacking his arm. "Can we see him?" Hailey asks Will now turning her attention back to him.

"Yes, but don't wake him."

Stepping into the room, they are all quiet, not wanting to be kicked out by the older Halstead.

After seeing that their friend and co-worker is okay, the intelligence unit minus Hailey leaves.

"How long are they keeping him for?" she asks him.

"For at least twenty-four hours."

"Is this normal. I mean do they normally keep someone after this type of reaction?"

"Most of the time, they will keep someone until the allergen is out of their system, but in Jay's case, he has a history of biphasic reactions, a second reaction with no exposure to the allergen. This can happen an hour to seventy-two hours after the initial attack."

Hailey nods, taking in the information that she'd probably never get out of her stubborn partner, "Is he allergic to anything else that would cause this?"

"He hasn't said anything?" Hailey only gives him a look that says _what do you think?_ "Bees, tree nuts, penicillin, he's allergic to latex, but he hasn't had any anaphylactic reactions to it."

"What do I do if he has a reaction?"

"Give him his epi-pen, then call 911 and tell them it's an anaphylactic reaction"

"How do I give the epi-pen?"

"Here," Will grabs the new box of the two-pack of epi-pens Jay got after using his. Opening the box, he grabs the grey training one, "They come in packs of two. This grey one is a training one. It's labeled, it has no medicine or needle. The yellow ones are the real ones. Do not use them as the practice, they have the needle and epinephrine. Hold in in your hand in a fist. Take off the cap, it is a safety release, it won't work if the cap is still on. Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh. Then jab it into his thigh, the needle can go through clothing, even jeans, so don't work about that. Hold it for three seconds, and then release. Never put your hand near the orange part. Massage the spot for ten seconds. If he needs a second one after five minutes, you can give it to him, but after that, a medical professional should judge."

"How do I know if he needs the epi-pen?"

"It depends on the person, if you notice something isn't right with him, ask if he needs it, then ask if he needs help administering it."

* * *

The two talk quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping detective. After a while, Jay starts to stir, "Will," he croaks through the mask. He calls his brother, knowing that he is always there. Will stands over the bed as soon as he hears his name," Hey, Bud. How you feeling?"

"Tired."

"How's your breathing?"

"Okay."

"Hey, Jay," Hailey speaks softly.

"Hailey? What are you doing here?"

"You're my partner. Where else would I be?"

"The barbeque."

"We left. The rest of the unit was here to check on you earlier." Noticing that he is half with her, she tells him, "It's okay, go to sleep." For once Jay listens and does what he's told.

The two watch over the sleeping body in the bed.

* * *

A nurse comes in with Jay's dinner, leaving it on the tray after Will promises to wake Jay to get him to eat.

"Jay, wake up." Jay mummers incoherently, before sighing and going back to sleep. "Jay, you have to eat," Will tries again, this time shaking Jay.

"No. Don't feel good." This statement alarms Will, as his brother is the last on to admit that he's unwell.

Hailey gets a good look at his face, as he is on his side, facing her, "Will," She calls the attention of the older brother, "I think he has a fever, he looks flushed." Will places his hand on Jay's forehead, his brother leaning into the touch. He then checks the sting site, frowning at what he sees. The site is red, hot to the touch, and looks infected. "Will presses on the call button.

"He has a fever, I think the sting site is infected," he tells the nurse when she walks into the room. Looking at it, the nurse agrees and pages the doctor to come in.

Looking at the site, the doctor agrees, telling the nurse to put him on an antibiotic. "He's allergic to penicillin," Will reminds them, not wanting Jay to have another reaction.

"Because of this setback, we're going to have to keep him until his fever breaks, if it doesn't before the initial twenty-four hours." Will agrees, knowing that Jay won't be happy.

They let Jay sleep, in an attempt to sleep the fever off.

* * *

The next day, Will wakes up to see Jay still asleep but looking better. Feeling his brother for a fever, he is happy when he notices that Jay is not as warm as the previous night; he still has a fever, but it is defiantly lower.

Being the ever light –sleeper that he is, Jay stirs at the touch. "Will?"

"It's okay, go back to sleep."

"Can I still go home today?"

"If your fever is gone."

Jay goes to answer when he can feel his throat starting to close again. "Will," he gasps.

Knowing what is happening, Will quickly hits the emergency call button, "He's having a biphasic reaction," he tells the nurse when she comes into the room.

A doctor rushes in, with Will telling him the same thing, "Push epi," the doctor orders.

Once the commotion dies down, Jay falls back to sleep, oxygen mask still in place.

* * *

When Hailey visits later that day, the oxygen mask on Jay has been replaced with a nasal cannula. "You look better," she says, noticing the change of oxygen support and the normal coloring in his face.

"I feel better like I don't need to be here anymore," Jay hints.

"Sorry, Jay. Will already told me you're staying until tomorrow afternoon."

"Hailey-"

"They're taking you off of the oxygen tomorrow morning and if you do okay without it, they'll release you."

"Fine."

"Hey, look on the bright side. Your fever is gone, you'll be done with the antibiotics by late tonight."

"I guess."

"So, were you ever going to tell me that you had several severe allergies?"

"It wasn't important."

"Jay," she scolds, "If Will wasn't there… we didn't know what was wrong. We could have lost you. I'm not losing my partner to a bee. Do you understand me?"

Jay has the decency to look ashamed, "Yes." Hailey stares him down, to be sure he isn't lying to her, before continuing normal conversation.

* * *

The next morning, Jay is taken off of the oxygen to see how he holds up on his own. His numbers stay in the mid-nineties, pleasing his doctor and brother. Jay leaves with the punishment of medical leave for three more days and then a week of desk duty starting the day he goes back to work. Hailey takes a late lunch that day, so she can give Jay a ride home from the hospital. She takes Jay back to his apartment, making sure he has the epi-pens and gets him settled before going back to work.

A week later, Jay walks back into the precinct, epi-pens in his bag. Entering the intelligence bullpen, he is greeted by his co-worker, glad to see him back at work. The team fills him in on their current case, and Jay gets to work, doing everything he can to compensate for being restricted to desk duty. He's definitely walking away the next time he sees a bee.


	3. C is for Concussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chase leads to an undisclosed injury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Late season 6  
> Completed: Nov. 30, 2019

"5021-George. I am perusing the offender on foot through the ally," Jay called into his radio as he chases the suspect. Making a sharp turn around a corner, Jay slips on a patch of ice colliding with the ground, head bouncing off the pavement.

"You shouldn't have ran," Jay hears Hailey tell the suspect as she puts the cuffs on him.

Jay slowly gets up, "About time you showed up," he jokes.

"Well, not everyone likes running in this weather," Hailey jokes back, before noticing that he is limping towards her. "Hey, you okay?" she asks, "Seriously," she adds giving him a knowing look.

"Yeah, I just slipped. I'll take some Advil when we get back to the district," Jay tells her, hoping to get his partner to back off some.

"Fine, but tell me if something isn't right."

"Yes, Hailey."

The two get back into her car and go back to the district to interrogate the suspect.

* * *

At the district, Hailey watches Jay like a hawk as he takes the Advil.

"What do you think?" Hailey asks Jay as they are watching Voight and Kevin interrogate the suspect.

"I don't think he knows anything. I mean, no doubt he's involved, but he's low level. Probably had no idea of what he was getting himself into," Jay answers while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" Hailey questions when she notices his action.

"Yeah, yeah."

"You would tell me if you weren't though, right?"

"Yeah, this case is just giving me a headache."

"Do you want more Advil? I have some Tylenol in my desk if you want that instead," she offers.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though."

* * *

"We all hitting Molly's?" Ruzek asks the team at the end of the day.

Everyone looks at each other before answering. They all give different variations of a _yes_ before heading out for the night.

Once at the bar, they each order their drink before finding a spot big enough for the six of them. The girls in one conversation and the guys in another, Hailey is still keeping an eye on Jay as she does not trust him to not hide an injury. She notices that he is a bit quieter than normal, but at the same time, he is not a very talkative person with either Adam or Kevin.

Lightly kicking his foot, Hailey gives Jay a look, silently asking him if he's okay. Looking up, Jay gives a slight nod before trying to look like he is paying attention to what Adam and Kevin are talking about, but the headache is making it hard to focus on what they are saying as he just wants to go home and sleep.

Jay spaces in and out for the net half hour, with Hailey keeping a watchful eye on him. She finally has enough, knowing he won't say anything in front of the others, Hailey claims, "I'm going to call it a night, Jay do you need a ride?" she asks hoping that he will pick up the hint.

"Um, yeah. Thanks, Hailey." The two head out with Ruzek calling to them about being boring.

When the two get in her car, Jay leans his head back against the headrest. Noticing his action, Hailey asks, "Jay, are you okay? And don't say fine."

Jay sighs before answering, "Yeah, I just can't shake this headache."

"I have Tylenol in the glove box if you want to see if that will help," she offers.

"Thanks," he says as he searches for the painkillers, taking out four and dry-swallowing them before resting his head back on the headrest.

The ride to his place is silent, as she doesn't want to make his headache worse. "Jay, we're here," Hailey tells him when they get to his apartment building.

"Thanks for the ride," he replies before he reaches for the door.

"Hold on a second," she stops him from leaving. When he turns around to face him, he finds her hand resting on his forehead, checking for a fever.

"What are you doing?" he questions her as he tries to move away from the touch, but Hailey isn't having that.

"I'm trying to see if you have a fever. You don't feel warm."

"I don't feel sick. It's just a headache. I'll sleep it off."

"Okay," she gives in, "But call me if you need anything. I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow?" she checks.

"Yeah, seven is good," Jay agrees before getting out of the car.

Walking into his apartment, Jay goes straight to bed, hoping that his headache will subside by the time he has to get up for work in the morning.

* * *

When Jay wakes up, he notices that his head is still pounding and it is still dark out as he looks around. Just as he's about to try to fall back to sleep, he sprints out of bed, feeling the contents of his stomach rising back up his throat, hoping to make it to the bathroom in time.

Jay just makes it losing everything he ate in the past day. As he is leaning over the porcelain god, trying to rid his stomach of its contents, he can feel his headache worsening.

Once his stomach is done torturing him, Jay takes some more Advil for his head and goes back to bed, hoping he can sleep until his alarm goes off in the morning.

The next time that he wakes up is when his alarm goes off. Forcing himself out of bed, Jay hops in the shower hoping that would wake him up before Hailey is supposed to get there.

Being slower than normal, Jay just finishes getting ready when Hailey texts him that she was waiting outside. Realizing that he won't have time to make coffee, Jay sighs before grabbing what he needs for the day and walking out the door.

"Hey, can we stop for coffee?" Jay asks as he gets in her car.

"Sure," Hailey answers always up for coffee. "What happened? You oversleep?"

"No just didn't have time."

"How's your head?"

"Better," Jay lies, knowing if he told her how he really felt, she'd force him to take a sick day.

"Good, let me know if that changes," she answers, always looking out for her partner.

* * *

After stopping at Dunkin' Donuts the two make their way into the bullpen. After having five back-to-back cases, Voight has put the unit on standby for the day so his team can catch up on backlogged paperwork.

After finding this out Jay is happy that he's not going to aggravate his headache by chasing suspects across the city all day.

Jay is working on filing all of his reports that he let get tossed to the side for a few hours before noticing that staring at the computer screen is worsening the pain in his head.

Feeling the familiar feeling in his stomach from last night, Jay quickly hops up out of his seat to head to the restroom but gets dizzy standing so he trips on his feet. Managing to bet his balance, he rushes out of the bullpen with his co-workers staring after him.

"Is he hungover?" Ruzek asks.

"He didn't drink that much last night," Kevin defends him.

"I'll go check on him," Hailey voices in concern as she goes after her partner.

Walking into the locker room Hailey can hear Jay gagging. "Jay, it's Hailey. Can I come in?" she asks as she knocks on the stall. Not hearing his protest, she slowly pushes the door open to find Jay leaning over the toilet.

"Feeling better now?" she questions as she puts a hand on his neck trying to both comfort him and check for a fever at the same time.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Not your fault. Do you think it's something you ate?"

"No. I skipped breakfast this morning."

"Okay. Is this the first time you've been sick today?" Jay doesn't answer right away, giving Hailey her answer. Remembering the spill that he took yesterday while chasing the suspect, she asks the dreaded question, "Jay, yesterday when you fell chasing the suspect, did you hit your head?" Again, Jay stays silent. "Why didn't you tell someone?" Hailey scolds him.

"I didn't think I hit it that hard."

"Stay here, I'm going to get my keys and I'm taking you to Med. No arguments."

"Is Jay okay?" Kim asks as soon as she sees Hailey walking back into the bullpen.

"When Voight gets back, tell him I took Jay to Med. I think he has a concussion," Hailey answers as she goes to her desk to grab her keys.

* * *

Hailey is able to get Jay in the car and drive to Med after only mildly threatening him. Walking into the ED, she makes Jay sit in a chair while she goes to check him in. "Hey, Leah," she greets the admitting nurse, "I have Jay here, he hit his head yesterday while he was chasing a suspect and I think he has a concussion."

"Okay, have him fill out this paperwork, and I'll get him in as soon as I can. I'll also let Will know he's here," she tells the detective while handing her a form on a clipboard.

"Thanks." Hailey goes to sit next to Jay, "Here, fill this out and she's going to get you in as soon as she can. She's also going to let your brother know you're here," Hailey informs him as she hands over the clipboard.

Leah pages Maggie to let her know that there is a head injury in the waiting room and pages Will that Jay is there.

No sooner does Will get the page is he out in the waiting room by his brother's side. "Hailey, Jay. What happened?"

"He fell chasing a suspect yesterday and I think he has a concussion," Hailey answers.

"Jay, follow my finger," Will orders his younger brother. Taking note that Jay's eyes aren't tracking, he shines a light into his brother's eyes causing them to dilate.

"Yeah, he's defiantly concussed," Will tells Hailey, "He's going to need a CT scan to make sure there isn't a bleed."

"Jay," Will turns to his brother, "Did you lose consciousness?"

"I don't know."

"He probably has a grade II or III concussion. What am I going to do with you little brother?"

"Jay, can you walk or do you need a wheelchair?" Maggie asks as she calls him back before he has a chance to answer his brother.

"I can walk," Jay stubbornly answers as he goes to stand. Becoming dizzy at the movement, Jay starts to fall and would have landed on the ground if not for his brother and Hailey.

"Wheelchair it is," Maggie tells him as the three try to get the stubborn detective to sit in the offered device.

"Hey, he just got here. I've been waiting for hours," complains a man in the waiting room. "He looks fine, he can wait. I heard what that doctor called him, it looks like he's getting special treatment because his older brother is some hot-shot doctor here "

"Head injuries take priority," Maggie answers in a no-nonsense tone.

Getting Jay into a treatment room, Doctor Ethan Choi walks into the room while looking at his tablet. "Hey, detectives. Will," he greets.

"Okay, follow my finger," he tells Jay, doing the same test that Will had just performed on him. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was chasing a suspect through an ally. I fell and the next thing I hear is Hailey talking to the suspect as she cuffs him."

"Did you lose consciousness?" Choi asks as he shines a light in Jay's eyes.

Jay shrugs his shoulders. "I didn't notice, was too busy trying to cuff the suspect, by the time I looked over Jay was up and limping, but walked that off pretty fast" Hailey adds, "He had a headache when we got back to the district, but said it was just the case. And he was quiet when we were all at Molly's last night, but he gets like that sometimes."

"How is your vision?"

"Normal, my head is pounding though."

"I'll get you something for that. Have you been sick at all?"

"Yes," Hailey answers as Jay starts to shake his head _no_. "He rushed out of the bullpen, by the time I got to him maybe a minute or two later, he was gagging into the toilet. And when I asked if that was the first time today, he didn't answer right away, so I'm assuming it wasn't."

"Jay," Will ask sternly.

"I don't know. I got up once, but I threw up a couple of times before I went back to bed."

"You should have called me," Will scolds his brother.

"I already got the lecture from Hailey," Jay tells him.

"And you're getting one from Voight when you come back," Hailey adds. Jay groan hearing this new bit of information.

"Okay, I'm going to send you down for a CT to make sure there isn't a bleed. But I'm pretty sure you have a concussion, at least a grade II possibly grade III. You're going to be off work for at least a week, possibly more, and when you do go back, you'll be on restricted duty for another week until you're cleared to go back into the field."

"Sick," Jay murmurs before leaning over the bed, throwing up the little water Hailey had forced him to drink on the way over. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Bud," Will comforts, "Think you're done?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Okay, I'll get you some anti-nausea meds too before you go for the scan."

"Thanks, Ethan," Will thanks on the behalf of his brother as a nurse injects the medicines into his IV.

"Will?" Jay calls.

"Yeah?"

"My head hurts."

"I know, the pain meds will help soon. Try to sleep some." Jay turns to face his brother, knowing he is safe with Will and Hailey in the room.

Twenty minutes later, two orderlies come to take Jay to get the CT done. Jay wakes up briefly but quickly goes back to sleep with the reassurance from his brother.

* * *

"Well, it's a grade II borderline grade III concussion," Choi informs them when he gets the results back.

"What does this mean, can he go home?" Hailey asks.

"I'm going to admit him for twenty-four hours and if everything is fine, he can go home tomorrow afternoon."

"I'm fine," Jay argues, "I already spent one night without a babysitter."

"Which is why I will restrain you if necessary," Will threatens his brother.

"It's just a precaution," Choi tries to mediate. "When you go home, have someone stay with you for the first week."

"That's all the medical leave I need for this. I don't need someone with me the whole time."

"Because of the grade of the concussion, you're on medical leave for two weeks, then restricted duty for a week."

"I'-"

"Do not mess with a head injury, Jay," Hailey scolds.

"Don't take any unnecessary chances," Will tells him at the same time.

"You'll be moved to a room shortly," Choi tells him before going to check on other patients.

"You should go back to work," Jay tries to convince the two still in his room.

"My shift was just ending when you came in," Will answers.

"You're getting me out of paperwork," Hailey teases.

"I hate you both," Jay states as he leans back, realizing that they weren't going to leave, not wanting to give him a chance to escape.

* * *

"Jay, wake up," Hailey calls her partner.

"I swear, the next person who wakes me or asks a stupid question, their body will not be found."

"Hey, now. It's almost time for dinner," Hailey tells him. "Will should be back soon with something for you."

"Where is he?" Jay questions surprised his brother left at all.

"He went to grab something to eat. We figured there was a better chance of you eating if it wasn't hospital food. Are the meds helping, do you think you can eat?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Hey, I got sandwiches from Subway," Will tells the two as he walks into the room. "How you feeling, Jay?" he asks when he notices that Jay is awake.

"I'd be better if I could go home," he tries.

"Tomorrow."

"Fine, what you get me?"

"Italian."

"Thanks."

"How much trouble am I in with Voight?" Jay asks when they are done eating.

"You may still be on desk duty after you're cleared with all the paperwork he has in store for you," Hailey answers causing Jay to groan. "Try to go back to sleep. I'll do my best to keep the nurse from coming in and waking you for a while."

"Thanks," Jay tells her, grateful of the offer.

* * *

"Detective, wake up," a nurse orders.

"Should we sedate?" asks a second nurse.

"We can't, he's a head injury," replies the first nurse.

The two had rushed into Jay's room when the monitors in his room started going crazy. When they arrived, they see their patient thrashing around in the bed, caught in a nightmare.

It is this moment that Will Halstead chooses to walk back into his brother's room. Seeing Jay trapped, he quickly goes to the bed, carefully putting a hand on Jay's back. When Jay doesn't hit him, Will starts rubbing circles, hoping it will settle his brother down like when they were kids. After a couple of minutes, Jay stops thrashing and his breathing becomes regular again.

The two nurses leave, seeing that the redhead has managed to calm down the patient.

 _Screw hospital policy_ , Will thinks to himself as he climbs in the be next to his brother, knowing Jay can never sleep well in strange places. Jay subconsciously turns to Will, resting his head on his brother's shoulder. This is how Hailey finds the two the next morning when she stops in to check on Jay before going to work.

When Jay is finally cleared for active duty, he is more than ready, having drove everyone crazy the whole time he was on restricted duty. Happy to be back in the field, Jay knows the next time he gets hurt in the field he needs to be honest because the punishment was worse than being on medical leave.


	4. D is for Deaf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going in without backup leads to a permanent affect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Late season 7  
> Completed: Dec. 07, 2019

"Jay! What are you doing? Wait for back up! The team is five minutes out!" Hailey yells at her partner as he runs towards the abandoned warehouse.

"We don't have five minutes! If we wait we might lose the girls!" Jay yells back, not caring if his partner doesn't follow him.

Hailey looks back, hoping to see the rest of the team arriving, but is met with nothing. She makes the decision to follow Jay, not able to let him go without some backup.

She catches him just before he kicks in the door to the back room in the building. The two clear the room, until Jay hears something.

The sound so quiet, Jay wouldn't have heard it if not for his years as a Ranger. Knowing exactly what that sound was, Jay frantically looks for his partner, "Hailey! Bomb, run!" he yells running towards her to ger her out of harm's way.

Jay grabs her, but can't get out of the room before the device goes off. Jay grabs Hailey in a last-ditch effort to protect her.

The device goes off, sending the two detectives flying from the force. Hailey is protected by Jay, but he knocks his head against a concrete support pole, getting knocked out in the process.

Not knowing what is in the bomb or if there are more, Hailey is cautious not wanting to put herself and Jay in any more danger. When the room stops shaking from the force of the explosive, Hailey takes a chance to look around.

Her first concern is her unconscious partner. Looking at him, she notes that the only visible damage is where his head is bleeding. She looks around the room and makes note that it looks like the bomb was for the purpose of structural damage: several support beams are out and their exit is blocked by debris.

Hailey could climb over the debris to get out, but that would mean leaving Jay by himself while she called for help. Hailey decides to stay with her partner, listening to her heart and not her head. Hailey knows that she can't lift her partner while he's unconscious, and even if she could, she'd be worried about spinal damage.

So she waits for her team to arrive, knowing they can't be too far away.

* * *

After waiting for what seems like forever, Hailey hears the voices of her team. "Jay! Hailey!"

"In here!" she calls back.

"Hailey is Jay with you?!" she recognizes Adam's voice.

"Yeah! He needs help! He's unconscious! Head injury, possible spinal injury!" she calls out wanting her partner to get help as soon as possible.

Hailey hears his response and him calling for someone to call for an ambulance, but her only focus is on Jay, watching to make sure he's still breathing.

So focused on her partner, Hailey doesn't realize when Adam enters the room until he is right next to her. "Are you alright?" he asks, taking in both of their appearances.

"I'm fine. Jay took the brunt of it. I don't think the bomb was meant to take life, it looks like it was meant for structural damage," Hailey informs him of her observation.

Before Adam can respond, Brett and Foster of Firehouse 51 are being escorted in by Severide and Cruz. The paramedics get to work on the unconscious detective, putting a c-collar around his neck before placing him on a backboard. Brett then puts in an IV line, Hailey knows Jay would hate both the needle and the collar if he were awake.

"What about you? Are you okay?" Brett asks Hailey as Severide, Cruz, and Adam are getting Jay into the Stokes basket.

"I'm fine, Jay protected me," Hailey answers.

The six of the carefully make their way out of the room while making sure they get Jay out with as little problems as possible.

Once they get out of the warehouse with all the rubble, they are able to move him to the stretcher.

"I'm going with him," Hailey tells Voight as she is halfway into the back of the ambulance, not giving him a choice about letting her go. A feeling of déjà vu as she climbs in, the last time he was unconscious in the back of an ambulance because his big heart got him shot. This time he was once again hurt because he was trying to help someone.

* * *

Arriving at Med, Hailey is pushed away as Marcel and Choi get Jay into a trauma room to treat him. Watching helplessly, Hailey can only hope that he will be okay.

Hailey doesn't realize that Natalie has been trying to get her attention until she feels a hand on her shoulder. "Hailey, he's in the best hands possible," she tells her as she leads the detective to the doctors' lounge where a distraught Will is trying to get past Maggie to be with his brother.

When he sees Hailey he has to ask, "What happened?"

"I don't know. We cleared the room, then he yelled about a bomb. It knocked him into a support beam and knocked him out."

Before Will can formulate an answer, April appears in the doorway, "They're taking him to CT to see if there is a bleed."

"I should find the others, they'll want to know," Hailey speaks out loud before making her way out to the waiting room.

When the rest of the intelligence team sees her they all ask different variations of how is he doing.

"They took him to CT. That's all I know."

The team waits, none able to hide their nerves. After almost an hour of waiting, Will walks in to give them an update. "The good news is that there is no spinal damage or brain bleed," Will tells them when he has the team's attention. "He does have a minor skull fracture so he's going to be put in the ICU so we can monitor that. If there are no complications, he can go home in a week."

"Can we see him?" Voight asks.

"Make it short. I don't want to overwhelm him," Will answers, knowing they will find a way to see him either way.

Will leads them to his ICU room and they go in two at a time. Hailey goes in last, with the mind-set of not leaving until she can see for herself that Jay is going to be okay.

After seeing Jay, the rest of the team goes back to the district knowing that he will be okay and wanting to be able to tell him that they got the guy who was trafficking the girls. Hailey remains in the seat next to his bed.

Hailey talks to him about whatever she can think of, hoping he can hear her. Unbeknownst to her and everyone else what his future hold.

* * *

Finally around six o'clock, a full five hours after being rescued from the warehouse, Jay opens his eyes. It is slow, but Hailey is able to see his blue-green eyes. "Hey, welcome back," she whispers.

Jay's brows furrow in confusion. He can see Hailey's lips moving, but no sound is coming out. Now that he thinks about it, he can't hear the annoying beeping of every machine that is normally on in a hospital.

"Jay, what's wrong?" Hailey asks when she realizes that the heart monitor attached to him is going crazy.

Jay is looking around the room like a wild animal that is trapped. Hailey takes her hand and gently forces Jay's face to look at her. "What's wrong?" she repeats.

Jay still can't hear his partner. Wide-eyed, Jay stumbles, "I-I can't…" Jay can feel the vibration in his throat making the sounds, but he still can't hear.

"You can't what?" Her lips are moving, but still no sound.

"I can't hear."

This worries Hailey, but she tries to not let it show. Hailey nods, pointing to the call button, letting him know she was going to call for help. "He's awake, but there is a bit of a problem," she speaks into it when a nurse answers.

A couple of minutes later, a nurse, doctor, and Will walk into the room. "He can't hear anything," Hailey informs them.

Will immediately goes to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder in support.

"We're going to run some tests, but this could be a complication of the head injury," the doctor tells them. He then finds a piece of paper to write down what he just said to let Jay know. Jay reads the note before looking to Will overwhelmed. Will nods his head and Jay agrees, trusting his brother wouldn't agree to anything that would hurt him.

Jay is taken for the tests, leaving Will and Hailey in his room. Hailey looks to the red-head, "What chance does he have at getting his hearing back?"

"Hailey, I'm not an audiologist," Will tells her, trying to avoid the question.

"Will," Hailey stresses. "I need to know, I just want to help him."

"Hearing is a funny thing, sometimes a person can regain their hearing. But if this is a complication of the head injury- it's most likely permanent."

"So he can forget about his career as a detective," Hailey thinks out loud.

"In all likelihood, yes," Will speaks.

"What do I do? How do I convince him that there's more to life than being a police officer?" Hailey asks.

"We figure it out as we go," Will tells her, not having another answer.

* * *

Jay is brought back to his room an hour and a half later. "The doctor will be in in a bit to talk about the results."

Hailey places a hand on Jay's forearm, silently showing her support for him.

Before anyone can say anything, a doctor walks in. Looking to see that Jay is not alone, he takes the dry-erase board that he brought with him and writes something before handing it to Jay. Reading the board, Jay nods his head. "I was just asking if it was okay with him for you guys to know what happening," he tells the two.

"So what's causing his hearing loss?" Will asks.

"The skull fracture, though small, did damage to his temporal lobe. This is where your primary auditory cortex is; this cortex is responsible for interpreting sounds and language that we hear," the doctor explains.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Hailey asks.

"Not much, I'm going to connect him with an audiologist. He's not a candidate for a cochlear implant because his hearing is affected in his brain and not his cochlear."

"Is there a chance that his hearing can return on its own?"

"The audiologist can answer better than me, but I believe there is a less than ten percent chance of that happening." He waits and gives that a minute for the two to sink in. "The audiologist will be in within the next hour or so."

The doctor then takes the whiteboard and writes a condensed version of the verdict for Jay. _The skull fracture you sustained did damage to the part of your brain that processes sounds and language. An audiologist will be in within the next hour or so. Do you have any questions?_

"Permanent?" Jay asks.

The doctor takes the board to write his answer again. _Most likely, yes. Because your hearing loss is from a brain injury, you are not a candidate for a cochlear implant._

Jay nods, looking to his brother. "Thanks, Doc. I think Jay needs time to process this," Will speaks for his brother.

The doctor leaves, leaving the three alone in the ICU room.

Hailey moves so she is sitting on the edge of his bed. She makes sure Jay is looking at her before she tells him, "Everything will be okay," making sure to enunciate each word.

* * *

Almost an hour later a lady walks into Jay's room. "Hi, my name is Dr. Carter. I'm an audiologist, is now a good time?"

"Yeah," Will answers while Hailey grabs Jay's attention.

Dr. Carter places her laptop on Jay's tray facing him. She then takes a seat on a stool and sits a wireless keyboard on her lap. She types as she speaks, "My name is Dr. Carter and I'm an audiologist here. Do you go by Jacob?"

"Jay," the detective tells her.

"Okay, Jay. Who is with you?"

"My brother and partner from work."

"Okay. Is it okay if we talk about what's going to happen with them here?" Jay nods. "Okay. So, from the notes, you were told what caused your hearing loss."

"Yes."

"Do you have any questions or do you want to talk about what this means moving forward?"

"No questions right now," Jay answers looking to Hailey and Will. The two agree with him.

"Okay. So, right now we aren't going to do much. The priority is the skull fracture, in a couple of days if your doctor is okay with it, we are going to take you for a test to see how much of your hearing was affected-"

"I can't hear anything," Jay interrupts.

"Hearing is measured by decibels, so by seeing what you can and cannot hear will tell us the severity of your hearing loss. Hearing loss is broken into five levels of classification: mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, moderately severe hearing loss, severe hearing loss, and profound hearing loss. By understanding where your hearing loss is, we can decide what course of action to take."

"What do you mean by course of action?" Hailey asks.

"I mean, what path is Jay going to take for communication and if he will benefit from hearing aids. If so, we will make molds of your ears and get you set up with them.

"What did you mean by the type of communication?" Will asks.

"And how much will hearing aids help him?" Hailey asks.

"It will depend on where he falls in the classification of hearing loss. It could be anywhere from being very beneficial to only having him hear ambient sound. There are different ways that he can communicate. Some people chose to rely on writing down their conversations and now with technology it has gotten easier. There is also lip-reading and communicating verbally, though even the best lip-readers only catch about thirty-three percent of what is said. A lot of it is filling in the blanks on the context of what the conversation is. Cued speech is another option as well as learning sign language."

"What's cued speech?" Jay asks.

"It's a method of communication where the mouth movements of speech are combined with a system of hand movements. The sounds have a handshape and place around the mouth."

"This is a lot," Jay states.

"It's okay to be overwhelmed. This is a big change in your life, a fast change. I'm going to leave you some pamphlets on cued speech and American Sign Language as well as information on the different types of hearing aids. If you have any questions, just have someone page me and if not, I will see you when we do the hearing test."

She makes sure the three of them don't have any more questions before leaving the room.

When she leaves, Jay looks to his brother and partner, as if asking what they think he should do.

Hailey takes the whiteboard that the first doctor left, _Read the pamphlets and whatever you decide, Will and I will support._

Jay looks at them after reading her message and nods.

* * *

Two days later Jay is deemed stable enough to move for the hearing test. The three of them move to where the hearing test is going to take place. Jay is put in a different room while Hailey and Will are in the room with Dr. Carter.

Jay was given a set of headphones and was told to raise his right hand when he heard a sound from the right side of the headset and the same for his left. After fifteen minutes, Jay raised his left hand twice, and his right hand once.

When Jay walks into the room with the others, frustration is clear on his face. "That was so bad."

Hailey rests her hand on his arm giving a silent reassurance.

Dr. Carter is focused on her monitors for a moment before turning her attention to the three of them. "So, it looks like your hearing loss is between sever and profound."

"What does that mean for him?" Hailey asks, hand still on his arm.

"A hearing aid would help some, but you would still be relying on lip-reading or other forms of communication."

"Okay," Jay states. "What should I do?" he asks his brother.

"It's up to you."

"I don't want to feel isolated," Jay tells Dr. Carter.

"Okay, we can do the molds now if you want."

"Okay.

Dr. Carter gets what she needs to do the moldings. She places the cotton stopper in Jay's right ear before kneading the molding material and putting it in the syringe. "This will feel a little weird," she warns. She then repeats the same process for the left ear.

The moldings sit in his ears for five minutes while they harden.

"That feels weird," Jay comments when she takes them out.

"With your degree of hearing loss, you can either do Behind-The-Ear, BTE, or In-The-Ear, ITE. Both are pretty similar in function, because of their size both will pick up more wind noise than other models, but they are the only options with your degree of hearing loss. ITEs can get clogged with earwax," she informs him.

"Behind-The-Ear?" Jay answers though it sounds more like a question. Will nods encouragingly to his brother.

"It's going to take one to two weeks for them to come in. When they do, I'll contact you to come in and do the programming."

After getting the information from Dr. Carter, they take Jay back to his room.

"What do I do about work?" Jay asks the question that has been plaguing him.

 _You tell Voight and Hailey and I will be with you every step_ , Will writes knowing his brother has a long road ahead of him


	5. E is for Emotional Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hailey sees a different side of Jay as an unwanted anniversary comes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season before his kidnapping in 7x09  
> Completed: Mar. 12, 2020

"Jay, are you okay?" Hailey asks when she reaches her partner, worried after she hears the gunshot.

"Fine," Jay grunts while handcuffing the suspect that they were chasing.

"You're bleeding," Hailey gasps when she notices his arm as he hauls their suspect to his feet.

Looking down Jay tries to shake her off, "It's just a graze. It's fine."

"Go to Med and get that checked out," Voight orders as he arrives on the scene.

"Sarge-" Jay tries to argue.

"That's an order, Halstead," Voight turns to Hailey, "Make sure he gets there and gets checked out." Looking at Jay again, "No signing out AMA."

Handing the suspect over to Voight, Hailey goes to Jay, "Come on, partner," she says as she pulls him to the car, "You know this means I get to drive, right?"

"Yeah, okay," he answers quietly. Noticing his behavior, Hailey decides to address it in the car where they can talk in private.

Getting in the car, Hailey looks over to Jay in the passenger seat before she starts the drive to Med, "Are you okay?" Hailey asks him, "I mean, you just seem a bit off."

"I'm fine Hailey," Jay answers, still not looking at her.

Trying one last time, Hailey asks, "You know, you can't talk with me about anything, right?" Jay nods his head but does not answer verbally. The rest of the ride to Med is silent.

* * *

Walking into Med the two detectives are greeted by Maggie, "Treatment two, Voight called ahead."

"Thanks," Hailey answers. Jay still being silent.

April walks in, "Hey, detectives. Jay, I'm going to get a set of vitals on you then a doctor will be in with you."

"Okay," is the mumbled reply.

"Open," April orders as she sticks a thermometer in his mouth. Jay wisely does as he is told. "Hold that for me," she tells his as she moves his uninjured arm to put a blood pressure cuff on him and an oximeter on the finger of his injured arm. "99.7. How do you feel?" She asks when the thermometer is done with its reading.

"Fine."

"Jay are you okay?" Will ask when he sees his brother in the treatment room. Jay's only answer is to look down.

"He got shot. He says it's only a graze, but he's been pretty quiet since we left the scene, even for him."

Before Will can say anything else, Doctor Crockett Marcel walks into the room. "What happened here, Detective?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"He got shot, looks like it grazed him," Hailey answers, rolling her eyes at her stubborn partner.

"I'll be the judge of that," Marcel informs the injured detective. Prodding at the wound, he determines that it is just a graze, but it will need stitches. "I'm going to irrigate it to keep it from becoming infected and then I'll stitch it up, I'll also give you a course of antibiotics to prevent infection as well, and some pain medication to help the first day or two after that over-the-counter will work just fine."

"He's allergic to penicillin," Will tells his new colleague.

While Marcel is working on the wound, Will is looking at the vitals for the first time, now that he knows Jay is okay. Looking at the vitals, everything seems to be within range considering Jay was shot. Noticing his temperature, Will asks, "Jay are you feeling okay, you're running a little warm," while placing a hand on Jay's forehead.

"Okay," Marcel interrupts, "Keep this dry, change the bandage twice a day, and the stitches can come out in a week."

"What about work?"

"Desk duty until the stitches come out." He leaves before anyone can ask any more questions.

"I'll grab his discharge papers," April tells the trio.

April returns quickly with the medications and papers, which Jay readily signs, wanting to leave.

Before the two detectives leave, Will asks, "Hailey, do you mind giving me a minute with Jay before you guys leave?"

"Sure, Will. Jay, I'm going to call Voight and let him know what's going on."

"What do you want Will?" Jay asks annoyed that his brother is stopping him from leaving the hospital.

"How are you? Really. I know this week is hard on you with the anniversary of mom's death co-"

"Stop. You have no right to talk about her. You left her, she was dying, and you weren't here."

"I know. And not a day goes by that I don't regret it. I just want to make sure you're okay to go back to work. Did you get shot because you were distracted?"

"This case. The suspect was just trying to help his mom. She's dying from cancer, like our mom. Why does it take so many people? Nobody deserves it, it's not-" Jay's voice starts to break causing Will to pull him into a hug being careful of his injured arm.

"I know. I know," Will just holds his brother, like he did when they were kids, giving Jay the safe space to let his emotions out.

After a couple of minutes, Jay is able to regain his composure, wiping away the evidence of his tears. "Do you feel like going back to work today? I can tell Hailey that you're not feeling well." Looking into Jay's eyes he can see the ghost haunting him. "Okay, I'll let Hailey know."

"Let Hailey know what?" She asks as she enters the room again. "Sorry, I was about to knock when I heard my name."

"Can you take Jay home before you go back to work. He's not feeling great right now."

"Yeah, no problem. Do you need someone to stay with you?"

"No, I'm just going to sleep. My head kinda hurts."

"Okay. Come on, let's get you home."

"Hailey," Will calls as the two are leaving, "Watch out for him," he tells her when she turns around.

* * *

"Do you need me to walk you inside?" Hailey asks when they reach his apartment building.

"No, thanks though. And uh, just thanks for being you."

"No problem. I'll stop by after work to check on you. Text me if you need anything and I'll bring it then."

"You don't have to."

"You're my partner, I don't mind."

Not knowing how to answer to such a caring response, Jay just nods his head and walking into his building.

Hailey makes sure he actually made it into the building before she left to go back to the district.

Arriving back to the district, the first thing she hears when walking into the intelligence bullpen is Voight asking, "Where's Halstead?"

"When I went to grab him after we hung up, Will asked if I could drop Jay off at home. Said he wasn't feeling well."

Voight accepts this answer before turning his attention back to the case.

* * *

Walking into his apartment, Jay digs out the last picture that was taken of himself with his mother, along with the stuffed dog, made of his mother's shirts, that his maternal aunt gave him after his mom died and he had returned from Afghanistan. Laying down on his couch, Jay drifts into an uneasy sleep.

" _That's it, Jay," his mom, Kathryn yells at five-year-old Jay as he kicks the soccer ball. Having a lot of energy, Kathryn Halstead has decided to sign up her younger son for soccer. Luckily for her, Jay seemed to love the sport the minute he was introduced to it._

" _Mama! Mama? Did you see that?!" Jay excitedly asks his mother, while running up to her._

" _Yes, Baby. I saw you did great."_

" _Jay, get back here," his coach calls after him. Jay goes back to his coach._

_Finishing up with practice, Jay goes back to his mom and after he switches his cleats for sneakers the two walk home, Jay holding his mom's hand._

_###_

" _Jay, what happened?" Kathryn asks when he comes home from school with a black eye._

" _Nothing, Ma," he lies._

" _Baby, let me see that," his mom tells him as she forces her son to look at her. "Here, put this on it for ten minutes," she tells him while handing him a bag of ice._

" _Did you get into a fight?" she tries again. Jay stays quiet, not wanting to let his mom know that he actually got beat up. "Are you not telling me because you don't want your father to know?"_

_###_

" _I am so proud of you," Kathryn tells Jay._

" _You're not mad?" Jay asks confused by her reaction._

" _I could never be mad at you for wanting to serve this country," she says while pulling him into a hug. "You just promise me that you do everything you can to come home to me."_

" _I promise."_

* * *

Jay wakes up to a knocking at his door. Looking at his watch, Jay realizes that he has been asleep for four hours. He opens the door to find Hailey on the other side with a take-out bag in hand, "Hey what are you doing here?" he asks as he moves to the side to let her in

"We finished early," she answers while taking a good look at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I just woke up."

"Oh no, did I wake you?" Hailey asks realizing what he said.

"It's fine. I needed to get up anyway."

"Here, I stopped at that deli down the street. I didn't know what you' be hungry for, so I got soup and a sandwich."

"Thanks," Jay tells her as he grabs the sandwich, leading Hailey into the living room, forgetting about the dog.

"Hey," she grabs Jay's attention, "What's this?" she asks referring to the stuffed animal.

"My, uh, my aunt gave it to me after my mom died. She made one for me and one for my brother. She, uh, took some of my mom's shirts to make them."

Hailey gives him a sad smile, "It's special then," she states.

"Yeah. I, uh, I wasn't home when she died. I was still overseas, and I couldn't get leave," voice cracking as he reveals this.

"I'm sorry Jay," Hailey tells him, placing a hand on his arm for comfort.

"I didn't know how sick she was. She never told me, if I knew I would have tried to get leave."

"She probably didn't want you distracted," Hailey tries to come up with an answer that would make any kind of sense.

"She had to go through everything by herself, Will was off in New York partying. Dad was drunk. She died alone."

"She was strong to go through that herself."

"How do you know? You didn't know her."

"I know because I know you. You are such a strong person, I know you had to get it from someone and I know you didn't have the greatest relationship with your dad."

"I miss her," Jay whispers.

Hailey takes the uneaten sandwich from Jay and places it on the coffee table before pulling him into a hug. Jay tries to pull away, not used to coming into this type of contact from anyone but his mother, but Hailey just holds him tighter. Eventually, Jay realizes she's not going to let go and lets himself melt into her embrace.

"I know. And it's okay to miss her and maybe she didn't want her dying to be how you remember her. Do you want to talk about her?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"What was she like? She had to have the patience of a saint to be your mom," Hailey tries to lighten the mood.

"I think that was more Will's department," Jay answers, "But, yeah. She put up with a lot, from me and Will fighting, Will fighting in school, dad's drinking."

"Are you saying you never got into a fight at school?"

"I'm the one who got beat up."

"Oh."

"I was always closer to her than my dad. He hated it, but she loved it. Will seemed to outgrow mom by the time he was at the middle school. She did her best to protect us from his drinking, but we knew."

"She loved you and she was proud of you. I know I didn't know her, but I also know it's true."

"How?"

"The way you talk about her, I can tell she loved you. As for being proud of you, it's hard not to be."

"Thanks," Jay takes a couple of minutes before he speaks again, "She would have liked you."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you keep my ass out of trouble."

The two sit in a comfortable silence for a while longer, just enjoying each other's company. Having an emotionally tolling day, Jay tries to stifle a yawn.

Not wanting to be the reason that is keeping him up, she tells him, "It's getting late, I should be going. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" she checks, not wanting to leave him by himself if he's not okay.

"Yeah, thanks for stopping by." Hailey is on her way out when she hears her name being called. "Do you mind coming with me somewhere on Saturday?"

"I want you to meet her." Shocked, Hailey is speechless. "If you don't want to I understand."

"No, no. It's not that. I'm just surprised. Are you sure you're going to be okay if I leave?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks for being here."

"Always. Do you need a ride to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"I'll pick you up at seven then."

* * *

The next day, Hailey picks Jay up at seven sharp.

"How did you sleep?" she asks on her way into the district.

"Okay," he lies, evident by the bags under his eyes.

Stopping at a red light, Hailey gives Jay a look, letting him know she doesn't believe him. For once, she is glad that Jay is on desk duty, knowing that his head is most likely not in the right place to be working in the field.

Arriving at the district, they are greeted by Kim, "Hey guys. Are you feeling better Jay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

When everyone else arrives, Voight announces that since they closed their last case and do not have anything urgent at the moment, they are going to use the day to catch up on paperwork. This causes everyone to groan, except for Jay and Hailey.

Jay because he is not the only one stuck on in the bullpen and Hailey because she will be able to keep a closer eye on Jay.

The team spends the day on their paperwork before leaving for the day. "Anyone going to Molly's?" Ruzek asks.

Kim, Vanessa, and Kevin give different variations of _yes_.

"Not today," Jay answers.

"Why not?" Ruzek asks.

"Can't drink and I just want to get home."

"Hailey?"

"I think I'm just going to relax at home tonight."

"Your loss."

* * *

Saturday, Jay picks up Hailey in the early afternoon after stopping to get flowers for the grave. The ride is silent as Hailey doesn't know what to say and Jay is lost in his own thoughts.

Arriving at the cemetery, Jay parks near his parent's plot, before leading Hailey to where the grave is. He places the flowers on the headstone, where she sees, _Kathryn Halstead 1961 – 2006. Loving daughter, sister, wife, and mother._

"Ma, this is Hailey. She's my partner at work. You would have liked her, she keeps me out of trouble."

"Hi, Mrs. Halstead. You'd be proud of Jay, he's a great detective."

Hailey listens to Jay talk to his mom for probably forty minutes before she hears footsteps behind her and someone calls out to them, "Jay? Hailey? Is that you guys?"

"Hey Will," Hailey greets. Jay remains silent, still resentful that Will had the chance to say good-bye and he didn't. Wanting to give the brother's some time, she whispers to Jay, "I'm going to give you guys some time. I'll be by the truck."

Once the two brothers are alone, Jay asks, "What are you doing here?"

"It's been thirteen years today. I know I wasn't around before, but I'm trying to be now."

"Why did she have to die? She had so much life left."

"I don't know. But I do know that she fought to the end."

"Was she in pain?"

"They probably had her on a strong pain drip at the time. She probably wasn't aware of what was happening."

"Do you think she thought that we didn't care? Because we weren't there when she died."

Will feels his heart drop when he hears his brother ask that question. "No. She knew you couldn't be there. If anything, it would be me that she would have thought didn't care. But she knew you were overseas and you would have been there if you could. She would never think that of you, you were her baby."

"Do you regret not being there?"

"Every day, but Jay we can't live in the past. And as much as it hurts to know that she died alone, I know mom wouldn't want our last memory of her to be watching her as she took her last breath. She would want us to remember her how she was before the cancer made her look so sickly." At this point, Jay has unshed tears resting in his eyes. Will notices and pulls his baby brother into a rare hug, causing the tears to spill. Jay clutches Will's shirt like a lifeline. Will just holds him, wishing that he could take away the emotional burden.

After what seems like forever, Jay has managed to compose himself. "Do you want to go home now?" Not able to speak, Jay just nods his head. Will walks Jay over to his truck where Hailey is waiting for him.

When Hailey sees his face, she gives him a comforting hug. "Can you drive him home?" Will asks her with an underlying tone of, _he's in no condition to drive and I don't want him getting into an accident_.

"Yeah, no problem."

"I'll check in with you later, okay?" Will tells Jay as he helps Jay into the passenger seat of his truck. Jay just nods. After shutting the door, he turns to Hailey, "Take care of him, please."

"Always," Hailey answers before she gets into the truck. Will watches at his brother's truck leaves the cemetery, glad that his brother has a friend like Hailey.

* * *

When Hailey gets the two of them back to his apartment, she makes Jay a cup of tea to help calm him. After he finishes the tea, she makes him lay down on the couch. With his head in her lap, she rubs his back hoping that will put him to sleep. After a few minutes, Jay has fallen asleep with the stuffed dog in his grasp.

Not wanting to disturb Jay, Hailey, leans her head back and falls asleep where she is. Wishing she could take away his pain, the only thing Hailey can do is hope that he is feeling better when he wakes up later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know Jay seems OOC, but I feel that he has a soft spot for his mother.


	6. F is for Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The normal holiday celebration brings out Jay's PTSD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: Mar. 2, 2020

"Can you guys believe that we have off Monday?" Ruzek asks the rest of the Intelligence Unit the Saturday before Memorial Day while they are relaxing after closing a tough case involving a pedophile.

"Don't jinx it Ruz," Kevin Atwater warns his friend.

"So, I heard the fireworks at Millennium Park are amazing on Memorial Day," Ruzek tells the group. "What do you guys say?"

"Sounds good," Vanessa agrees. "I never got to do that growing up in the system," she comments.

"I'm in. I used to take Jordan and Vinessa when they were little."

"Sounds like fun," Kim adds.

Adam looks to Hailey, "Why not?" she answers.

He then looks over to Jay, "I don't know," the detective answers.

"Come on," Adam pushes. "When was the last time we all hung out outside of work?"

"It sounds like it will be fun," Vanessa adds trying to help Adam.

"Fine," Jay gives up, knowing that soon the whole team will be on his case to go. He leaves annoyed at his teammates.

* * *

Monday morning, Jay gets a text from Hailey telling him that after he left the rest of the team decided to meet at eight so they have plenty of time to get a good spot and hang out before the fireworks go off.

Jay sends a reply to let her know he got the message before throwing on his sneakers to go on a run to clear his head.

Somehow Jay winds up by the dog park near his brother's place. With Jay's luck, Will has Kohl out and spots his younger brother before he can get out of his line of sight. "Jay," he calls. "What are you doing here?"

"I went for a run," he answers while bending down to pet Kohl.

"What's up?" Will asks. Jay gives him a look saying _what makes you think that_. "You never run this way. Is something bothering you?"

"No, I just felt like running."

"Is it because they're going to be shooting off fireworks tonight?" Will asks knowing that fireworks are one of the things that can set off his brother's PTSD.

"The team is going to see the fireworks at Millennium Park tonight," Jay tells him.

"So, did you just tell them _no_?" Will asks.

"Ruzek won't take no for an answer. And Vanessa started too."

"If you want to skip it, tell them you aren't feeling well. I can vouch that you were."

"Thanks, but I don't want to deal with the questions that would bring."

"Okay, but if you need anything let me know," Will offers.

Jay nods but doesn't move. Will notices this, "Come on, let's go," Will calls for Kohl and the three of them head back to Will's apartment.

* * *

When they get into Will's apartment Jay takes a seat on the couch and Kohl follows him and sits at his feet. Will goes into his kitchen and grabs a water bottle for Jay.

"Thanks," Jay mutters.

"Do you want me to go too?"

"No, I don't think having my older brother there is a good idea," Jay tells him, not wanting to subject Will to a PTSD episode.

"Okay, well, do you want to hang out here until you need to leave?"

"No, I should get back to my place. I'll see you later," Jay wave good-bye to his brother and gives Kohl one more good head rub.

Once Will is sure that Jay is not going to show back up he makes a call to the person who he knows will keep an eye on his brother. "Hey are you busy?" he asks when the person picks up.

"No, what's up? Is Jay okay?" Hailey asks, not sure why her partner's brother would be calling her.

"Jay told me about how the team is going to see the fireworks tonight."

"Yeah, we're meeting at eight. Don't worry, I'll keep Jay out of trouble," Hailey jokes.

"Can you just keep an eye on him?" Will asks, not bothering to joke back.

"Sure. Is Jay okay?" Hailey asks going back to her original question.

"I don't know if he's told you this- and he'd kill me if he knew I told you, but ever since he was overseas, he hasn't been the biggest fan of fireworks."

"Shit- his PTSD," Hailey realizes.

"Yeah, fireworks are a trigger."

"We are asses," Hailey states slowly sighing. "How bad does it get?"

"Pretty bad. Flashbacks, he might disassociate."

"I didn't even think about that. I'm a terrible partner."

"You're not."

"He was hesitant. I didn't stand up for him. He's only going because we pushed for it so hard."

"That's not your fault. Just be there- he trusts you."

"Thanks for letting me know," Hailey tells him before hanging up the phone.

* * *

"Who was that?" Vanessa questions when she walks into the kitchen to see Hailey hanging up the phone.

"Halstead's brother."

"What's up?"

"Jay is being Jay. He wanted to see if I could talk some sense into him," Hailey partially lies.

"Is Jay always so stubborn?"

"You've noticed? Yeah, since I've met him."

* * *

By ten after eight, everyone has made it to the park. The team enjoying the time together while not on duty. They are all relaxed except for Jay, and Hailey can only tell because she knows him so well.

"You okay?" Hailey asks walking up to him.

"Yeah. How many people here do you think really understand what today is about?" Jay asks quietly.

"I think most of them are just here for the fireworks. I think that's Adam's case."

"He drives me crazy sometimes," Jay admits.

"I know, I don't think that's his goal. I don't think he can help it, it's just who he is," Hailey pauses. "Today's different for vets, isn't it?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

"I've got six friends who've died for this country. There's not someone who's served and doesn't know someone who died."

"I'm sorry."

"You're not the one who killed them."

Hailey can tell that Jay's about to shut her out, so she changes the subject, "Let's grab something to eat before Kev and Adam eat it all." Hailey then proceeds to drag Jay back to the others, wanting him to eat before he is likely to be affected by the fireworks.

Jay is wound tighter than a spring, but no one other than Hailey seems to notice. She just tries to keep him engaged with everyone, hoping it won't get too bad.

* * *

As soon as the first firework goes off she can see Jay's body tense. Hailey moves near him, hoping he can feel her presence and it will help keep him grounded.

Jay is intently focused on his breathing, but none of the others seem to notice. A particularly loud set that shakes the ground makes Jay bury his head in his knees and cover his ears with his arms, his hands on top of his head.

Hailey can see his body trembling. "Jay, you're in Chicago," she reminds him while the others are fascinated with the display.

"No, no, no, no," he whispers almost inaudible.

"Jay, you're safe," she tells him.

"The Humvee-" Jay whispers.

Hailey knows she needs to get Jay away from the display, so she tries something that could be potentially dangerous for her. "Jay," she whispers, placing a hand on his trembling shoulder. "Jay. It's me, Hailey," she tells him. "Do you recognize me?"

Jay looks at her, green eyes, bright and wild, and nods.

"I'm going to take you home. Okay?"

Jay just continues to stare at her.

"I need you to help me. Just walk and I will do the rest," Hailey tells him while pulling him up by his arm. Hailey carefully guides him out of the park and to his truck.

Taking his key, she unlocks the truck and helps him into the passenger side before getting into the driver's side. Jay is once again hugging his knees and rocking back and forth. Hailey turns on the radio and turns the volume all the way up, hoping to block out some of the noise.

The normally short drive seems like forever as she feels helpless in helping her partner. Finally getting to his apartment building, Hailey turns down the radio before turning it off, not wanting to startle Jay the next time he goes to turn it on, before getting out of the truck and once again guiding Jay into his apartment.

The fireworks are as loud as ever in his building and Jay makes his way to his closet where he once again curls into a ball, his arms over his ears.

Not knowing what she can do for him, she calls Will.

"Is Jay okay?" is his immediate response.

"I- I brought him back to his apartment. But it might be worse here. He's in his closet in a ball. I don't know what to. Should I take him somewhere else?"

"No," Will answers quickly almost shouting. "If you leave now, he won't associate his home as safe. As much as it sucks seeing him like this, you need to wait it out. He's probably going to pass out from exhaustion once the fireworks stop."

"What can I do?"

"Sit with him. Remind him where he is and that he's safe."

"Okay, thanks, Will."

"No, thank you for taking care of my brother."

The two hangs up and Hailey sends a text to Vanessa saying that Jay wasn't feeling well and she took him home.

Hailey then goes into his room and sits next to him in the closet. She places a hand on his trembling back and whispers reassuring words to him, hoping the fireworks will be over soon,

The fireworks pick up and Hailey can tell that it is the finale. After about twenty seconds of non-stop _pops_ there is finally silence. Jay's body starts to relax when he registers the silence. He leans into Hailey exhausted.

Hailey lays him down, not wanting to disturb him now that he is at peace.

"I'm sorry," Jay whispers.

"You can't help it."

"You missed the fireworks."

"I'm not that big of a fan, it's okay."

They are silent for a moment before Hailey asks, "Do you want to lay down somewhere more comfortable?"

"Okay. Couch?" he questions.

Hailey nods, helping Jay move to the couch. He lays on it with his head in her lap. Hailey puts her hand on his back, rubbing circles. "Your heart is still pounding," she comments softly.

He grabs her hand that isn't on his back, needing something to ground him.

* * *

After a while, Jay had managed to fall into a light sleep. Hailey also managed to doze off until one in the morning when some drunken idiots decided to shoot off their own fireworks. The sound winds Jay back up, his breathing erratic, and his eye wild once again.

"Jay, you're okay. You're in Chicago," Hailey reminds him not sure if he can hear her.

The former soldier is once again rocking back and forth. Not knowing what else to do, Hailey pulls him into a hug, hoping that would help ground him.

After the longest half an hour imaginable the fireworks stop and Jay is able to relax again. Hailey lays him down hoping that is the last of the fireworks.

She watches him sleep for over an hour, glad that he finally looks somewhat peaceful. Just as she leans her head back, about to go to sleep, Jay starts squirming.

Before she can process what is happening, Jay starts screaming in his sleep. Hailey can't understand what he is saying, but she knows that it is most likely unwanted memories- trauma- from his time overseas, brought on by the fireworks.

Hailey knows that she has to be careful that she doesn't make any sudden movements that will startle him, so she calls his name. She keeps calling his name until she gets a reaction from him.

She loses track of how many times she's called him until he slowly comes back to the present. When he realizes what is going on, he sits up as far away from Hailey as he can.

"Jay, it's me," she tells him slowly. "Do you know where you are?"

"I could have hurt you," he answers, not bothering to answer the question.

"But you didn't. I trust you."

"You shouldn't."

Hailey slowly moves closer to Jay, "What do you need me to do? And don't say leave."

Jay sighs.

"Do you want to talk about it? Can you talk about it?"

"The same thing. The Humvee, the IED, the dead kids."

"It's past two-thirty, you should go to bed," Hailey suggests, taking the hint that Jay doesn't want to talk.

"It's late. I can take the couch," Jay offers.

"No. After the night you had, you need the rest."

"You stayed up with me, you need to rest too."

"I'm smaller. I'm fine on the couch. So, go to bed and I'm out here if you need anything," Hailey gently pushes Jay towards his room.

* * *

Hailey wakes up four hours later to the sound of her alarm going off on her phone. Hailey gets up groggily after the long night. Judging by how she feels, she guesses that Jay is going to be ten times worse considering the rough night he had- both physically and mentally.

Grabbing her phone, she calls Voight to see if she can get the day off for Jay considering.

"Voight," the gravelly voice answers.

"Sarge, it's Hailey. Jay had a rough night with the fireworks yesterday, is there-"

"He can take today. You too, take care you your partner," Voight tells her before hanging up.

Hailey doesn't have a chance to say anything before the line disconnects. Hailey sneaks into Jay's room to turn off his alarm before it can wake him. Hailey gets into his phone easily, the passcode being his mother's birthday, and opens his alarm app to turn it off before leaving his room to let him sleep.

Since Voight also gave her the day off, Hailey decides to try to catch a little more sleep.

* * *

Hailey wakes up to Jay shaking her, "Hailey, get up, it's ten. We're late, our alarms must not have gone off," Jay tells her.

"Jay, take a breath," she tells him when her brain catches up to his words. "My alarm when off and I called Voight. I told him that you had a rough night because of the fireworks. He gave us the day."

"Hailey, I can't be a cop with PTSD," Jay yells.

"You're a good cop, who I would follow blind- PTSD or not. This is Voight, he doesn't care, he just wants good cops in his unit."

"I'm sorry," Jay apologizes when he realized his outburst.

"It's okay. Do you need anything before I go home?"

"No."

* * *

"Where's Hailey and Jay?" Adam asks when he realized the two detectives of the unit are missing.

"They aren't coming in today," Voight answers in a tone that implies to drop it.

"If they're hungover it's their own fault," Adam continues.

"Adam, I don't think they even drank that much last night," Rojas tells him. "I got a text last night from Hailey that Jay wasn't feeling well so she took him home. I guess with the fireworks none of us notice them leave."

"Enough, they will be here tomorrow," Voight tells them, not wanting this team to be talking about his two detectives.

* * *

"How are you doing?" Will asks when he calls Jay during his break.

"Okay. Apparently Hailey called Voight this morning and got us the day off."

"He understood."

"Will I can't be a cop with PTSD-"

"Jay, you are fine. You go to work, in Chicago you hear gunshots every day. But that doesn't affect your PTSD."

"It's different."

"I know. But Jay, you are good at your job, your PTSD doesn't change that- and it definitely doesn't define you."

"Ruzek is an idiot and he makes me crazy sometimes."

"Just forget about him. Do you want me to come over tonight? I can bring beer and pizza."

"No, I'd rather be alone."

"Let me know if you need anything," Will tells him.

* * *

Later that night, Hailey stops by Adam's place wanting to give him a piece of her mind.

"Hey, Hailey. What are you doing here?" Adam asks when he opens the door.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Hailey yells at him.

"What are you talking about?" Adam asks confused, as always.

"You pushed Jay into seeing the fireworks!"

"He agreed, he didn't have to," Adam argues.

"He knew you weren't going to give up, so he said yes to get you to stop asking."

"Okay? It was just fireworks, watching them never hurt anyone."

"That's not the point," Hailey tells him, not wanting to betray Jay's trust. "He didn't want to, but you keep pushing until he agreed."

"Well, I thought we could all do something as a team that wasn't work-related."

"You need to think about what other people want," she tells him before leaving, not giving him a chance to rebuttal.

* * *

"I told you I wanted to be alone," Jay tells his brother when he opens his door later that night.

"And you thought that I would listen? You don't need to be alone right now. We can sit in an awkward silence, but I'm not leaving," Will tells Jay as he places the pizza and six-pack of beer on the kitchen counter.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Vanessa asks Jay when she sees him in the breakroom of the bullpen on Wednesday.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine," Jay answers quickly getting defensive.

"Hailey sent me a message on Monday that you weren't feeling well so she took you home and to not worry about getting her on the way back from the park. And you weren't here yesterday," she answers confused.

"Oh, sorry. Better, thanks," Jay apologizes feeling bad about snapping at her.

"Don't worry about it, but heads up: Adam was being … Adam yesterday," she tells him before leaving the room, leaving Jay by himself knowing that Adam is going to be on his nerves today.

Jay prepares himself before going out to the bullpen, knowing it will be a long day.


	7. G is for Gastrointestinal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A stomach bug is making its rounds and Jay is the next victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: Mar. 2, 2020

After a grueling five days, the intelligence unit was finally able to close the case that they had been working on non-stop. An up and coming drug cartel have started trafficking Afghan children, mostly immigrants, along with the drugs.

Working tirelessly, the intelligence unit had managed to capture all of the members before they started dropping bodies. With the members of the cartel captured and the case closed, the children are now in the custody of DCFS with the hope that they can be reunited with their parents.

While the officers of the unit had returned to the Twenty-First, Hailey and Jay had remained on the scene to interview the children. With many of the children only speaking Pashto, it was up to Jay to do most of the interviews. Hailey interviewed the children who were able to speak English and kept an eye on her partner, knowing that cases involving children always affected him a bit more.

* * *

After almost four hours, Hailey and Jay were able to join the rest of their team at the Twenty-First. "How did the interviews go?" Kim asks when the two walk into the intelligence bullpen.

"The kids went through a lot," Hailey answers.

"A lot? Hailey, they went through Hell," Jay argued.

"Well, the good thing is that they are safe with DCFS now, right?" Kim asks trying to be positive.

"Yeah, but it won't erase what happened," Jay came back. "A lot of them didn't speak English either. DCFS is going to have to find a translator."

"Jay," Hailey sighs, "Take the win. We got the cartel before bodies started dropping, we got the drugs off the street before they hurt people, and the kids are safe."

Voight hears, his team talking from his office. Stepping out of his office he calls everyone's attention, "Call it a day. You can finish your paperwork tomorrow. You don't need to be in until ten," he adds.

A chorus of _thanks Sarge_ can be heard throughout the bullpen as Voight goes back into his office. "Who's up for Molly's?" Atwater asks. Various answers of agreement make their way back to him.

"Last one there buy's the first round?" Ruzek asks. At his question, the rest of the unit quickly leaves the bullpen wanting to beat Adam.

* * *

"Am I the last one here?" Adam asks as he enters Molly's.

"Jay still hasn't shown up," Kevin answers.

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" Vanessa asks.

"Do you know where he is?" Kim asks Hailey as they all turn to look at her.

"No. I'll text him," Hailey states, now worried about her partner.

"Maybe he saw someone who needed help on his way here?" Kim suggests. "You know how he's always trying to help people."

As Kim is speaking, Hailey's phone goes off with a text from Jay, _Sorry, I started feeling sick after I left the district so I went home instead. Tell the others I said sorry and I'll buy the first round next time._

_Do you need me to bring you anything?_

_No. Plus, I don't want you to get sick._

_Okay, feel better and text me if you change your mind._

_Thanks._

"Jay's not coming," Hailey tells the rest of the group.

"Why not? Doesn't want to get the first round?" Adam jokes.

"No. he said he started to feel sick when he left the Twenty-First so he went home. He also said to tell you guys sorry and that he will get the first round next time."

"Or maybe he met someone," Adam pipes up.

"What makes you say that?" Kim asks her ex-fiancé.

"Because he seemed fine when we left?" Adam asks like it is the obvious answer.

"I don't know, Adam," Vanessa replies, "You know that feeling can come on pretty quick at times. And he seemed pretty quiet after he got back from interviewing the kids with Hailey."

"But he's always like that with cases that involve kids," Adam argues.

"Adam, I'm sure if Jay's not really sick, he has a reason for not showing," Hailey tells him, "But I don't think he would lie about this."

Hailey manages to get the others on a topic other than Jay and their case. For the next hour, the team enjoys their drinks and the time that they are able to talk about non-work related things.

Deciding to call it a night, Hailey makes a stop to a grocery store to pick up some things for Jay, knowing he doesn't have anything in his apartment.

Not knowing what is wrong with him, Hailey gets a variety of items including Gatorade, Ginger Ale and tea, crackers, canned soup, and vanilla yogurt.

* * *

Knocking at his door, she calls, "Jay, open up. I have some things for you." Not receiving an answer, she knocks louder.

When the door finally opens, she pushes her way in before he can close it on her. Hailey places the grocery bag on his kitchen counter before turning to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asks as he walks into the kitchen with her.

"You never have anything here on a good day, so I brought you some Gatorade, Ginger Ale and tea, crackers, canned soup you can heat, and vanilla yogurt," Hailey answers while reaching out to feel his forehead for a fever. "You don't feel warm," Hailey notes, noticing that while he doesn't seem to be running a fever, he is a bit pale, "You should try to eat something," Hailey suggests.

"I'll pass on that, but I will take some Ginger Ale," Jay states as he pours some out of the bottle and into a cup.

"What's wrong?" Hailey asks as the two of them walk over to his couch.

"Don't know. Just started feeling nauseous when I was leaving work," Jay tells her as he sips on the soda.

"Have you been sick at all or do you just feel like you need to be?"

"I've tried, but nothing comes up."

"Do you want to lay down? Maybe you can sleep it off," Hailey suggests.

"No, that makes the feeling worse," Jay starts gagging before rushing to the bathroom with Hailey following close behind, worried about her partner.

Jay leans over the toilet, spitting into it. Hailey rubs his back, not knowing what else to do. "You should really go. You don't need to see this and I would feel worse if I got you sick," Jay tells her when the feeling subsides.

"I'm not leaving you if you're sick. And you were probably contagious while we were at work." Jay only groans as his partner is talking to him. "Do you want me to call Will?"

"No, I don't want to bother him."

They sit on the bathroom floor for another twenty minutes, Jay alternating between leaning over the toilet and leaning against Hailey before he loses the contents of his stomach. Hailey rubs his back and speaks to him softly as he gags.

Hailey grabs a cup and puts some water in it for him, "Here. Rinse and spit," she tells him. Jay does as he is told. "Do you think you're done?" Hailey asks.

Jay answers by retching into the toilet. "It's okay. Let it out," Hailey comforts as his body shakes.

When Jay's stomach stops tormenting him, Jay is able to lean against the tub. Handing him the cup again, Hailey orders, "Rinse and spit." Jay does as he is told again. "Do you think you're done?" Hailey asks again.

"I think for now," Jay says hesitantly.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really," Jay murmurs as he leans against her.

Hailey feels his head again, still not feeling a fever. Wanting to make sure it's not his appendix, she asks, "Where does it hurt?"

"Stomach."

Not getting the answer she wanted, Hailey tries again, "Jay does it hurt here?" She asks as she puts pressure on his lower right side.

"No."

"Okay. Do you want to move back to the couch?"

"I don't know if I should."

"Okay, I'll grab you a bucket." Jay just nods.

"Come on," Hailey guides Jay back into the living when she comes back a moment later. Hailey turns on the television to re-run of the Fire game from the day before, knowing that Jay likes soccer.

As they watch the game, Hailey is absent-mindedly rubbing Jay's back. With the combination of feeling sick and the soothing motion of Hailey rubbing his back, Jay drifts to sleep.

It's not until the end of the game that Hailey realizes that he has fallen asleep. She doesn't want to wake him, but at the same time, she knows he will sleep better in his bed and she wants to try to get something in his system before she goes home for the night. "Jay, wake up," she whispers, not wanting to startle him.

"Wha'?" Jay asks tiredly.

"Hey, I'm going to leave soon. I thought you would sleep better in your bed and I wanted to try to get something in your system. Do you think you can eat a couple of crackers and drink some Gatorade?" Hailey asks.

Jay is silent for a moment, "Crackers maybe. No Gatorade," Jay finally answers.

"Jay, you're going to get dehydrated. What about ginger tea?"

"I can try."

"Okay, sit here. I'll be right back," she tells Jay as she makes her way to his kitchen.

When Hailey comes back a few moments later, she finds Jay slouched against the arm of the couch. Placing the cup of tea and the plate of crackers on his coffee table, she wakes him up.

"Hailey?"

"Yeah, it's me. Try to eat this and then go to bed," Hailey hands him the plate with five crackers on it and the cup of tea. Jay slowly nibbles on the crackers until he's eaten most of them.

"I can't eat anymore," Jay tells her when he is halfway through the fourth one.

"That's okay. Try to drink some of this, the ginger should help settle your stomach," she tells him as she hands over the cup.

"Why did you stay?" Jay asks as he sips on the drink.

"What do you mean?"

"You know you're probably going to have the same thing as me in a couple of days, right?"

"I already told you. You were most likely already contagious at work today. Besides, I know you're just a lug when you're sick."

"Thanks, for everything," Jay yawns.

"No problem. Are you done?" When Jay nods, she takes the cup and dumps the rest into the sink and throws the uneaten crackers in the trash. "Go to bed, I'll bring the bucket in in a minute." Jay goes into his room, while Hailey cleans up the mess in his living room.

Hailey knock on the door, "Jay, can I come in?" she asks. She answers after hearing a muffled _yes_. "Hey, here's the bucket."

"Thanks," he murmurs already half asleep.

"Do you need anything before I leave?" she asks him.

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"Okay, I'll check in with you tomorrow. Just try to sleep this off."

"Thanks, Hails."

* * *

When Hailey gets home, it is well past midnight. Glad that Voight is giving them a later start, Hailey quietly makes her way to her room, not wanting to wake Vanessa. Hailey quickly falls asleep once she is in her own bed.

The next morning Hailey wakes up to the smell of coffee. Looking at her phone to check the time. Seeing that it was nine o'clock, Hailey forced herself to get out of bed.

"Hey, when did you get back last night?" Vanessa asks, Handing Hailey a cup of coffee when she sees her emerge, texting on her phone.

"After midnight," Hailey answers as she takes a long sip of her drink.

"So, you were with Jay?" Vanessa asks with a knowing look.

"Yeah, he really was sick last night. He probably picked up that stomach virus that's been going around the city."

"That sucks," Vanessa comments.

"Yeah, I just hope he doesn't think he's okay to work today."

"He'd try to come in?"

"Knowing Jay? Yes."

* * *

"Where's Halstead?" Voight questions when he realizes one of his detectives is missing.

"I don't think he's going to be here today," Hailey tells him.

"Why not?"

"He was sick last night," Hailey answers him, "I think he got that stomach bug that's making its way through Chicago."

"Well if he contacts you, let him know he should have let me now himself," Voight barks before returning to his office.

"Has he answered you back yet?" Vanessa asked Hailey.

"Not yet, but if he had a rough night he's probably still sleeping. If he doesn't answer by lunch, I'll head over there to check on him," Hailey tells her after checking her phone.

Since they just closed a major case, the team was working on completing their paperwork for the Ivory Tower. While working on her reports, her phone dings notifying her of a text.

_Sorry, I'm just getting back to you. Just woke up. Still feeling the same._

_Have you been sick at all since last night?_

_Couple of times._

_Do you need me to bring you anything on my way home?_

_No, you've done enough._

_Okay, text me if you change your mind. And try to eat and drink something even if you don't feel like it._

_Yes, Will._

Hailey rolls her eyes at his last response, before texting Will. _Hey, what should I get Jay? He said nothing, but I know he's not going to eat._

"Hey, Will," she answers when her phone rings a moment later while walking into the breakroom.

"Hailey, is Jay okay?" He responds quickly.

"He's not hurt, but I think he picked up that bug that's been going around. He's gotten sick a few times and it was hard for me to get him to eat anything. I picked up some Gatorade for him last night, that's good for you right? But I couldn't get him to drink any; I know he likes it, he drinks it when we go to the gym. And I got a couple of crackers into him, but I don't know how long that lasted."

"Okay, don't worry about it. I'll stop and check on him when my shift is over. Did he have a fever?"

"I didn't check, but he didn't feel warm."

"Okay, it sounds like a stomach virus, let it run its course. Was he altered or delirious?"

"No, just tired, sick, and miserable," Hailey lists.

"He'll be fine, I'll stay with him," Will tells her. "Oh, and for future reference: If Jay's sick, he won't drink Gatorade. He always complains that it makes him nauseous. He does like the Berry Frost and Blue Raspberry Pedialyte, Grape will work too."

"Isn't Pedialyte for kids?"

"It is, but it's not going to hurt him if he drinks it."

"Okay, let me know if there's anything you need me to drop by on my way home."

"We'll be fine."

* * *

When Will finishes his shift at Med, he goes home to let Kohl out, before stopping at the to get food for Jay.

Will quickly goes through the store, grabbing bread, apple sauce, bananas, Pedialyte, ginger ale, and apple juice. The first five items being good for him and the last one being something that their mom always got them to drink when they were sick.

* * *

Will unlocks Jay's apartment when he gets there to find it dark. He turns on the light before placing the items that he got on Jay's kitchen counter. Will then goes to check on his brother, first looking in his bedroom only to find it empty. He then goes into the bathroom to find Jay asleep on the floor, head laying on a towel as a pillow.

"Jay," Will coaxes awake. His brother only moaning in response.

"What?" Jay mumbles once Will manages to wake him up, "What are you doing here, Will?"

"Hailey told me you weren't feeling well. She asked me what she should get for you, but I told her I'd check on you."

"'m fine."

"When was the last time you've gotten sick?" Will asks, noticing the lack of color Jay has.

"Don't know."

"How many times?"

"I don't know. Every half hour or so?"

"Okay, you're probably dehydrated. Do you think you can drink some Pedialyte?" Jay shakes his head _no_. "Okay, let's get you to the couch," Will tells him, trying to think of what their mom did for them when they were sick growing up.

Jay slowly gets up with the help of Will. He makes it to the couch with the help of his brother. Will gets the bucket from Jay's room and brings it to his brother before grabbing a blanket out of his closet.

Will covers Jay with the blanket, before placing his hand on his brother's forehead to check for a fever. Jay weakly tries to swat his hand away. Will ignores his brother, "I don't think you have a fever, but I want to make sure," Will tells Jay as he walks towards the bathroom to grab the thermometer that he placed there.

Returning to Jay, thermometer in hand, "Here let me take your temperature," he tells Jay as he tries to stick the thermometer in his mouth. Jay takes the device from his brother and sticks it under his tongue himself.

Halfway through the reading, Jay starts to gag, Will grabs the bucket and holds it under Jay's chin with one hand while grabbing the thermometer with the other. "Just a little longer," Will encourages his brother. Not able to hold it any longer, Jay opens his mouth heaving. Will takes the device, placing it on the coffee table, before rubbing Jay's back as he dry heaves, eventually bringing up acid. "You're okay. Jut breath."

"Sorry," Jay apologizes when he catches his breath.

"Do you think you can try again?" Jay just nods his head. Will gives Jay the thermometer and this time Jay is able to hold it for the full time. When it beeps, Jay lets Will remove it to see the reading, "97.8, no fever. That's good, how are you feeling?"

"Tired," Jay murmurs.

"Jay, try to drink some of this," Will orders his brother while handing him a cup of Pedialyte. Jay looks at it skeptically, before taking a tiny sip. "More, you're dehydrated and at the point of dry heaving." Jay drinks a little more, before looking at Will, begging him with his eyes to let him stop.

Giving in, Will takes the cup, "Okay, why don't you try to go back to sleep," he asks while adjusting himself so he is under Jay's head and can rub his back.

"You should go. I don't want to get you sick," Jay tries to get Will to leave.

"No, Jay. I'm around germs all day, I've built up a tolerance. Besides, I'm not afraid to be around my brother when he's sick." Jay, too tired to argue, just adjust himself to be more comfortable on his brother's lap and falls back to sleep. Seeing that he's won for now, Will turns on the television and searches for something to watch.

* * *

Jay jerks awake sometime later gagging. Will quickly grabs the bucket, getting it under Jay's chin just in time. Will rubs Jay's back as he throws up the little Pedialyte he managed to get Jay to drink.

"Do you think you're done for now?"

"No, but I don't have anything left."

"I know. I know," Will says while rubbing his back. Eventually, Jay decides he is done, so he leans against Will closing his eyes. "I'm going to empty this. Will you be okay for a couple minutes?"

"Mmm-hmm." Jay leans his head back against the back of the couch.

"Hey," Will says when he walks back into the room, not wanting to startle his brother. When Jay makes a non-committal noise, he continues, "Do you think you can lay back down or do you want to sit up for a while?"

"Sit." Will sits next to his brother and Jay lays his head down on his shoulder. Jay eventually falls asleep like this, causing Will to adjust his so he is laying down.

* * *

Jay manages to sleep for a couple of hours before waking up again. Jay stretches out, causing Will to notice that he has woken up. "Hey, you need to eat something. Do you think you can manage some toast?"

"I don't know."

"Can you try?"

"I think." Will makes two pieces of toast for Jay. Jay forces down a piece and a half before putting the rest back on the plate. Will then holds a cup of the Pedialyte in front of Jay, silently telling him to drink. "No."

"You're dehydrated."

"It's going to make me sick again."

"Jay, if you don't get fluids in you here, I'll have to take you to Med for an IV." Not wanting to make a trip to the hospital, Jay takes the cup and takes a couple of small sips. "More." When he drinks enough that Will is satisfied, Will takes the cup, before tuning of a documentary about sea life.

"You should go home," Jay tells Will after the documentary is over.

"Why? Tired of me?"

"You have Kohl."

"My neighbor said she would let him out for me."

"I think I'm going to bed."

"Okay, do you need help getting there?"

"No," Jay answers as he sways getting up.

"Sure, you don't," Will sarcastically states as he steadies his brother.

Will gets Jay to his room and helps him get settled before turning to leave. Will goes back to the living room to get the bucket, placing it by his bed before spraying the couch with disinfectant, so he can spend the night there.

* * *

Jay wakes up through the middle of the night, the familiar feeling in his stomach. Not realizing that Will placed the bucket by his bed, Jay races to the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet, Jay tries to be quiet, not wanting to wake Will, as he throws up the toast and Pedialyte that Will forced in him.

Hearing a noise coming from the bathroom, Will listens carefully to see if he should check on Jay. Hearing Jay gagging painfully, Will knocks on the door, "Jay, I'm coming in." Upon entering, Will sees Jay leaning over the toilet, body shaking violently as he dry heaves. "Jay, let me take a look at you," Will asked.

Feeling like he got hit by a bus, Jay nods his consent.

Placing a hand on his brother's forehead, Will notes that he doesn't feel warm, but he is clammy. He then pinched a large part of the skin on the back of his hand and watches as it slowly goes back to its original position. "Jay, I really think I should take you to Med. You're dehydrated and you can't keep anything down. They can give you something for the nausea."

"I feel like I got hit by a bus."

"I know. Do you think you can stand now?" With the help of his brother, Jay manages to stand and get ready to go to Med.

Will helps Jay to his car and gets him settles into the passenger seat before driving to Med.

* * *

Arriving at Med, Jay is taken back fairly quick, since it is the middle of the night.

Jay lays on the bed letting the nurse take his vitals. "A doctor will be in shortly," the nurse tells them.

"Thanks," Will speaks for the both of them.

Not five minutes later, one of the night shift doctors comes in, "What seems to be the problem?" he asks them.

Seeing that Jay isn't going to answer, Will speaks for him, "He got sick after work yesterday, so I went over after work today and he told me that he probably threw up every half hour or so through the night. He hasn't been able to keep anything down."

"Okay, there is a virus going around right now. It sounds like he picked it up somewhere. I'm going to give him IV fluids, along with anti-nausea medication through the IV and hopefully, we can have him out of here and back at home resting in a few hours."

After the IV is set up, Jay and Will both fall back to sleep. Jay is much more comfortable than before.

By the time the IV is finished, it is seven o'clock and Jay is still asleep. Knowing he won't have time to take Jay home and return in time for his shift, he calls Hailey.

"Hey, is Jay okay?" she asks when she picks up.

"He's doing better. I had to bring him into Med for fluids. Do you think you can pick him up and take him home before you have to go into work? I don't have time to take him home and get back here in time."

"You took him to Med? Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yeah, the fluids and anti-nausea medicine really helped him."

"Okay, I can be there in twenty." She tells him before hanging up.

His next call is to Voight, so Jay doesn't have to worry about making that call, "Sergeant Voight?" Will asks.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Will Halstead."

"How is Jay doing?"

"Better, but he won't be in today. I brought him into Med through the night to get fluids, they're releasing him soon, but he's still drowsy."

"Let him know, he can't come back until he's no longer nauseated."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Jay," Will wakes his brother.

"Hmm?"

"My shift is starting. Hailey is going to be here soon to take you home. Is that okay?" Jay just nods his head before falling back to sleep.

* * *

Hailey arrives and is pointed to the room where Jay is in, "His discharge paperwork is already filled out. The anti-nausea medicine he was given is making him drowsy and the pills for nausea are in his room," the nurse tells him.

"Hey, I'm here to spring you," Hailey tells Jay once she is able to wake him. Hailey helps him into a wheelchair before pushing him to her car. He gets him settled before taking the chair back into the E.D. The drive is silent since Jay still has the medication in his system.

With a little struggle, Hailey is able to get Jay into his apartment and settled on the couch, "Do you need anything before I go?"

"No. Thanks for getting me though."

"Don't worry about it. I'll check in with you later, okay?"

"Okay, thanks." Hailey leaves to go to work.

* * *

Two days later Jay returns to work. He still has no appetite but he is no longer nauseous and can't sit at home any longer. Even though they are no longer partners, Hailey keeps her eyes on him for the next few days until she is convinced that he is back to his normal self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 97.8= 36.6


	8. H is for History Repeats Itself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Actions have consequences and Jay is affected by his partner's actions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post-7x18  
> Completed: Arp. 18, 2020

Hailey drives to Jay's on autopilot, her conversation with Voight stuck in her head. She knows that she's been crossing some lines lately, but it isn't anything the other wouldn't do she tells herself.

She robotically gets the details from Platt before leaving the district. Her mind going to _how is she going to tell the others_. She can text Kim, Adam, and Kev, but what does she tell Vanessa so she doesn't blame herself. And then there's Jay, she wants to wait and text him when she lands in New York. She doesn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes when she tells him about what she's done. She doesn't want him to blame himself for being what he believes to be a bad partner.

But she can't do that to him. He's already had one partner leave him without saying good-bye, even if it is just temporary, he deserves to be told in person and not find out from someone else. She just hopes he doesn't go down another rabbit hole while she's gone– she won't be able to pull him out if she's four states away.

The drive from the precinct to Jay's apartment complex goes faster than she would like. Hailey gets out of her car, knowing if she waits any longer she will back out and she can't do that to Jay.

Making the trek to his door, she tries to figure out how she's going to explain everything to Jay– her partner, her best friend, her anchor.

When Jay opens the door for her, she doesn't even realize that she had knocked. Hailey walks in when he moves to the side, his silent invitation to come inside. "What's up?" Jay asks, expecting it to be about a case– their normal routine when a case gets to one of them.

"I need to tell you something… and I think you should sit down," Hailey decides on.

"What's wrong?" Jay asks as he leads her to the couch.

"I-I've crossed the line, done some things that I would never have done when I first came to this unit."

"I know about Darrius."

"How?" Hailey asks, caught off guard.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out."

Hailey nods. "That's not the only thing. This case… I crossed some more lines and Voight knows."

"What? Did he suspend you? We can talk to him," Jay tells her.

"No, no. No, he didn't suspend me," Hailey answers. "Another agency was looking for a loan out officer as part of an interagency training program. Voight volunteered me. I leave tomorrow."

"Where?" Jay whispers.

"New York's FBI task force," Hailey tells him quietly.

Jay's heart drops to his stomach when he hears New York and FBI task force in the same sentence.

Hailey watches Jay carefully for his reaction. His face shows no emotion, but she can see the sadness in his eye for a split second. "It's only for a few weeks. Voight wants to teach me the lines and the lines are real clear there." She still gets no reaction out of him. "Jay, talk to me. What are you thinking?"

"I just got you back," Jay states.

Hailey's heart breaks hearing this, knowing Jay has some unspoken abandonment issues. Unsure how to answer that, Hailey tells him, "I'm going to go to New York and do whatever I need to, to come back home. Chicago is home."

Jay just looks like her like someone kicked his puppy. "We can still do our thing, we will just need to do it over the phone. We're still able to talk while I'm gone, and we are still partners. Do you understand me?" Jay nods. "Good. Now, I know this will be hard for you, but please try not to get shot while I'm gone. Remember lead is bad for your health," Hailey jokes.

"I don't get shot that much," Jay argues.

They talk for a little longer before Hailey has to leave so she can pack.

* * *

The next morning, Jay walks into the bullpen and stares at Hailey's empty desk. He bypasses his own desk and goes straight for Voight's office, entering without knocking.

"Can I help you?" Voight asks sarcastically.

"Why did you send Hailey away?!" Jay asks. "So, she make some mistakes- we all have. I probably made the most. But you didn't send me away; not after the Lonnie Rodiger investigation, not after the Camilla fiasco, not after the arson case that killed my dad, not when I shot and killed that girl, not when I was doing security when Terry got killed, not after Matthew Garrett! So why did you send her away?!"

"Because- you're still you! Hailey's trying to be like me! I won't let her. I turned something off inside of me a long time ago, I'm not letting Hailey do that. It will destroy her!" Voight yells before sending Jay out of his office.

Jay makes his way to his desk, still made that he doesn't have his partner. Trying to take his mind off of being partner-less, Jay turns on his computer to go through the paperwork that needs to be done.

The day goes slow for Jay not having his partner-in-crime. As if Vanessa can sense Jay's mood she tries to get him to lighten up, "Come on Jay, Hailey's probably having a great time in New York." Jay just glares at her, giving her the message to stop talking.

The tension in the bullpen is thick after that, Vanessa not understanding Jay's history.

* * *

Day twelve without Hailey, when Kim goes to question a relative of the victim, she goes over to Jay wanting to get him out of the same room as Vanessa for a while, "Jay, come on. We need to talk with the victim's aunt."

Jay just looks at her for a second, a blanks look in his eye, "Okay," he nods before following her.

"Do you want to drive?" Kim asks.

"No, you can," Jay answers distracted.

Kim gets into the driver's seat keeping a careful eye on Jay. "Are you okay? You know she's coming back, right?"

"She asks you to keep an eye on me?" Jay questions.

"She wants me to try to keep you from getting shot," Kim answers.

"I'm fine and I don't need a babysitter," Jay tells her.

"Okay, but if you need to talk to anyone, I'm here," she offers.

Jay nods in acknowledgment but doesn't say anything.

The short trip to the aunt's house is filled with an awkward silence.

* * *

"Are you sure you can't remember anything unusual?" Jay asks.

"No. My nephew was a good boy, he wasn't in a gang or nothing like that," she answers.

"Okay, well, if you think of anything later- give me a call," Jay tells her while handing her his card.

"Thank you for your time," Kim adds before she and Jay walks out of the house.

Just as the two are getting into Kim's car, their radios crackle to life with a location. "That's five blocks from here," Jay comments.

"This is 5021 Eddie, I'm five blocks from that location. We will respond, be advised of plainclothes officers on the scene" Kim calls into her radio before taking off in the direction of the call.

* * *

Arriving at the location, Kim and Jay seem to be the first to arrive. Looking at the building, they notice that it is rundown, "We should wait for back up," Kim tells him.

"We should go in. What if they're in there getting rid of evidence?" Jay goes in not giving Kim a chance to reply.

Kim follows him, knowing Hailey will kill her if something happens to Jay. Catching up to Jay once they reach the front hall. "I'll take upstairs, you get downstairs," Jay tells Kim as he is climbing the stairs.

Kim shakes her head, wondering how Hailey keeps him out of trouble as much as she does. Kim starts clearing the downstairs, room by room. Kim is careful so she doesn't miss anything.

* * *

Jay is carefully searching each room on the second floor of the house. After not finding anything in each room, Jay reaches out to enter the last room of the floor. Opening the door, Jay is surprised when the suspect hits him in the chest with a two-by-four, knocking his gun out of his hand.

Jay tries to disarm the suspect, but he is faster than the detective and manages to get another hit in. The two start fighting in the hall, the suspect dropping his two-by-four to the ground so he can get a hand on Jay. The suspect manages to bash Jay's head into the wall, disorientating the seasoned detective.

Taking advantage of the disoriented detective, the suspect charges at him sending them both down the stairs.

"Chicago PD! Don't move!" Kim yells at the suspect, pointing her gun at him. After cuffing their suspect and handing him off to Kevin, who just arrived with the rest of the team, before checking on Jay.

Kneeling next to the detective, she takes inventory of his injuries. He has a gash on his head, probably from the tumble down the steps, but no other visible injuries.

"Jay, what happened?" she asks concerned.

"He was waiting in the last room with a two-by-four," Jay groans. "He knocked my gun out of my hands," Jay tells her trying to sit up. While trying to sit, Jay loses the color in his face.

"Okay, stay down for a little bit," Kim requests. "Adam can you look for his gun?" she asks Ruzek who is the closest person to them.

"Yeah, sure," he responds before turning to Jay. "The ambulance should be here soon."

"I don't need an ambulance," Jay argues.

"We're going to let the paramedics decide that," Kim tells him before adding, "Don't make me call Hailey to get you to listen."

Jay lets out an annoyed sigh but doesn't argue further.

Adam returns with the missing weapon just before Ambulance 61 arrives at the scene. "What happened?" Brett asks.

"The suspect surprised Jay with a two-by-four before sending him flying down the stairs after a struggle," Kim answers. Knowing Jay is most likely going to try to talk his way out of a trip to the hospital.

Hearing that the detective was knocked down the stairs, Brett immediately determines that Jay needs to be taken to the hospital- to his displeasure. With the accessories of a c-collar and backboard until it is determined that there is no spinal damage.

"Where did he hit you with the two-by-four?" Brett asks.

"Chest."

Brett goes to check his ribs when she feels something under his shirt, "Do you have a vest on?"

"Yeah," Jay grunts.

"Okay, I want to check for broken ribs, but that's going to have to wait till you get to the hospital. I don't want to move your neck too much until your c-spine is cleared. And you might have a concussion. You earned a trip to Med."

"My neck doesn't hurt, this is unnecessary."

"I will call Hailey to get you to listen," Kim threatens.

"No. Don't tell her," Jay responds, stopping his struggle.

"Jay, she's going to find out."

"I know, but I'll tell her when she gets back. It's only a couple more days," Jay tries to convince her.

"Fine, but if she gets mad, I'm blaming you."

"Okay, we're ready to roll," Foster tells them. "Are you riding with him?"

"Yeah, someone needs to keep him from leaving AMA," Kim tells the paramedic while climbing into the back of the ambulance after they put the stretcher in.

* * *

"What happened this time?" Will asks when he sees his brother being wheeled in.

"Jay decided to fight our suspect on the staircase," Kim tells the older Halstead.

"We only brought him in because we couldn't clear his c-spine in the field and a possible concussion," Brett tells the red-haired doctor.

"Will, you can't be here," Marcel tells him as soon as he enters the treatment room.

"I'm not treating him, I just wanted to find out what happened," Will tells him.

"Went down a flight of stairs, and got hit in the chest with a two-by-four. Vest was in the way of checking his ribs and I couldn't clear his c-spine in the field; possible concussion," Brett tells Marcell.

"Okay, let's transfer on my count," Marcel instructs the people in the room,

After getting Jay on the bed and moving the stretcher out of the way, Marcel goes above his head and undoes the c-collar. Placing his hands on either side of Jay's head, Marcel asks, "Can you touch your chin to your chest?" Jay does what he is told. "Now side-to-side." Jay again does what he is told. "Okay, we can get rid of this," Marcel tells Jay while moving the immobilizing device away.

Marcel moves to Jay's legs and places his hands on Jay's shins, "Can you feel this?" He asks the detective.

"Yes," Marcel repeats the same process a couple more times in different places before deciding there is no spinal injury.

Marcel helps Jay move off of the backboard before moving the bed so it is no longer flat. "Okay, can you take off your shirt and vest so I can check your ribs?"

Jay slowly does what he is told, pain on his face even though he tries to hide it. Marcel presses down on Jay's chest. "Okay, I want to get a chest x-ray, but I'm pretty sure you have some fractured ribs.

Marcel has everyone leave the room except for essential personal. When the x-rays are done, Marcel lets Will and Kim back into the room. "Okay, it looks like you fractured four ribs. I'm sending you for a head CT, but it looks like it's a minor concussion," Marcel tells the detective before leaving the room to schedule the CT.

"Kim, you can go back to the district," Will tells her. "He's not going back today."

"Okay," Kim answers unsure.

"I'll make sure he doesn't leave," the older Halstead promises.

"Okay," she answers before looking to the injured detective. "Jay, call me if you need a ride," she tells Jay before leaving.

* * *

"So where is Hailey?" Will asks once Kim leaves. "I'm surprised she didn't ride in with you. When you were shot, she didn't leave until she saw for herself that you were okay. Are you guys fighting?"

"No," Jay answers. "She's in New York."

"Why is she in New York?"

"Voight sent her to set her straight or something."

"So when is she coming back? Do you want me to call her?"

"No, and she's supposed to be back in two days."

"What's up?" Will asks sensing something is bothering Jay.

"Nothing."

"You're afraid she's not coming back?"

"What if she likes New York better than Chicago?" Jay asks avoiding eye contact.

"Jay, she's not Erin," Will tells him, knowing what he is thinking.

"I know, but… you lived in New York for a while, you know what it's like. What if she decides to stay?" Jay asks, a panic rising in his chest, fear that his brother might decide to go back too.

"Hey, Jay, breathe," Will coaches, sensing what Jay is thinking. "I promise, I'm not going back- I'm not leaving you again. And I don't know Hailey as well as you do, but I know that she wouldn't leave you."

"I don't know where you're going with this."

"When you were shot, she was a mess until she saw for herself that you would be okay. She really cares for you- call it a brother's instinct."

Before Jay has a chance to process what his brother said, Marcel comes back in letting them know that they are ready to take Jay for the CT.

* * *

"So, you have a minor concussion and four fractured ribs," Marcel tells Jay when the CT results are back. "The CT showed that there was no bleeding, but you still need to take it easy for a few days: limit the time that you're looking at a screen, nothing physically taxing. I can prescribe some pain meds for your ribs if you want, but other than that I can't do much. I see this isn't the first time you broke some ribs, so you know the drill. I know it hurts, but you need to do some deep breathing exercises and try to cough some every two hours to help prevent pneumonia. You can ice it for twenty minutes each hour for the first couple of days, then switch to icing it three times a day. Your concussion should be cleared up in a few days so you can start moving around then. Sleep elevated for the first few days, try not to be flat."

"No drugs," Jay tells him.

Marcel looks to Will, "Tylenol 3, I'll make sure he takes it."

"What about work?"

"It's going to take four to six weeks for your ribs to heal. So, you're out for at least that long."

"Can I go home now?" Jay asks defeated.

"I get off in a half an hour," Will tells Jay. "Can you wait in the doctor's lounge until then? I'll take you home when my shift is over."

"Kim said I could call if I needed a ride," Jay protest wanting to get out of the hospital.

"You need someone to stay with you," Will tells him.

"Will, go. Look around, I can cover the rest of your shift," Marcel offers, indicating that the ED is slow without actually saying the words not wanting to jinx it.

"Are you sure?" Will asks skeptic.

"Family is important, don't make him wait around here; he'll be more comfortable in his own home."

"Thanks," Will is grateful. Marcel nods before leaving the two brothers waiting for the younger's discharge papers.

* * *

Half an hour later, Will is helping Jay as he is gingerly walking into his apartment. Getting Jay settled in his bed, Will goes into his kitchen to get an ice pack for Jay's ribs.

"Here. This should help some," Will tells Jay as he hands him the ice pack.

"Thanks."

"I'm going to be in the living room. Call me if you need anything," Will reminds Jay.

The rest of the night and the following day revolved around Will forcing the pain medication into Jay and making sure he is icing the ribs and doing the breathing exercises to prevent pneumonia. Will figures that Jay must be in pain because he hasn't driven him crazy yet and is actually listen to what Marcel told him.

* * *

On the fourteenth day that Hailey is gone, there is a knock on the door. With Jay sleeping in his room, Will goes to answer the door before it can wake him wondering who is knocking on his brother's door at ten at night.

He opens the door to find a familiar blonde. Hailey is just as surprised to see Will as he is to see her.

"Is Jay okay?" is the first thing that she asks when she sees her partner's brother answer his door.

"Come in," Will moves to the side to let her in. "He's going to be fine, but two days ago he ended up at Med with a concussion and some broken ribs."

"What happened?"

"All I got out of him was he got hit with a two-by-four and then went down a flight of stairs."

"What's the report?"

"Concussion is minor and should clear in a couple more days, but the ribs are going to take four to six weeks to heal."

"Has he gone stir crazy yet?"

"Not yet, but I think that's coming once his ribs feel a little better."

"I came to see him, but I should let him rest," Hailey tells the older Halstead.

"You can wake him. I was just about to; he needs to do another breathing exercise before he goes to bed for the night."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, he knows what to do. Just make sure he has a pillow to take the impact."

Hailey nods to Will before going into Jay's room. Seeing her partner propped up on a bunch of pillows makes her heart hurt. She wasn't there for Jay because of the lines she crossed- because Voight sent her away. He's hurt because of her.

She carefully places a hand on his arm, hoping to wake him without jolting his ribs too much, "Jay, wake up," she whispers. All she receives is a groan. "That's it. Time to wake up."

"Hailey?" Jay questions. "No you're not real," Jay moves sharply believing he is hallucinating. He grabs his chest at the sudden movement of his ribs. "No, I'm dreaming- you're in New York. You left."

Hailey can sense her partner panicking, knowing he is hurting himself. "No, Jay. It's me, I'm right here," Hailey takes Jay's hand and places it on her chest so he can feel her breathing. "I just got back. You're not dreaming."

"Hailey?" He questions more lucid. "What are you doing here?"

"I just got back and thought I should stop by. Will told me what happened, or at least, what he knows. He said I could wake you- that you needed to do a breathing exercise one more time before going to bed for the night."

Jay nods, slowly moving so he can do the exercise. Hailey hands him a pillow and he does what he is told, pain on his face the entire time.

Once he is finished, Jay leans back on the pillows. "Do you want ice?" Hailey asks.

"No. How was New York?" he asks afraid of her answer.

"It was nice, but it wasn't home. Now, are you going to tell me what happened? Will only told me that you got hit with a two-by-four and went down a flight of steps."

"Suspect was waiting for me when I was clearing the second floor. You're not going back?"

"No, I missed Chicago too much," Hailey tells him. "And New York pizza sucks," she adds as an afterthought.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. Now, what is this with you getting hurt? I thought I told you not to."

"You told me not to get shot," Jay replies smartly.

"Yeah, you're fine. I should go, let you rest," Hailey comments as she goes to leave.

"No. Stay for a little, please?"

"Okay, just till you fall asleep," Hailey decides, climbing next to him, careful of his injured ribs. Jay pulls her close to him, afraid that if he lets her go she will leave again, falling to sleep with her in his arms.

An hour later, Will walks in to find them in the same position- both sleeping. He carefully walks out not wanting to wake either of them, but not before taking a picture of the two.


	9. I is for Immunocompromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A missing spleen makes the flu 10 times worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Early alternative season 7; but Upstead is together and Rhodes is still at Med.  
> Completed: Apr. 26, 2020

"Hey, Vanessa," Hailey calls out to her roommate one day in late September as they are heading to her car to drive to the district.

"Yeah?" Vanessa answers looking over to her roommate.

"I just wanted to give you a head's up since it's getting close to cold and flu season. If you get sick be careful around Jay."

"Is he okay?" Vanessa asks concerned about her new teammate.

"Yeah, he's just immunocompromised from an accident when he was serving overseas," Hailey answers, hoping Jay won't get mad at her.

* * *

Three weeks later, the flu is making its rounds through every department in the 21st district: its latest victims is the intelligence unit. Kevin was the first to go down, followed by Adam two days later.

While Kevin called in after first becoming sick, Adam attempted to tough it out for a few days before Voight finally sent him home.

Almost a week after the flu first invaded the intelligence unit, Kevin is back and Hailey notices that her partner seems off– and not in a normal something is bothering him way.

"Upton, Halstead, go back to the scene and see if you can find anyone who may have security footage," Voight tells the two detectives of the unit.

Hailey and Jay grab their jackets and walk to the exit of the intelligence bullpen. Once out of earshot of the team, Jay turns to Hailey asking, "Do you mind driving?"

"No, what's wrong? I normally have to fight you to drive," Hailey asks concerned.

"I'm just kind of tired," Jay tells her reluctantly as they reach her car.

"Okay, well, it's a long drive so you can rest your eyes on the way if you want," Hailey offers as they get into their respective seats.

"Thanks, but I'm not that tired. I'm just not awake enough to drive," Jay tells her tiredly.

* * *

The ride is quiet, Jay shutting down any conversation that Hailey tries to start. When they get to the scene, the two start going door to door hoping to find someone who has cameras pointed to where their homicide took place. The more people they talk to, the more that Hailey notices the congestion and scratchiness in Jay's voice.

The seventh door that they knock on brings luck, as the owner has a security camera facing that way. While it isn't much because of the distance from the scene, it is better than what they had an hour ago.

After thanking the owner for the copy of the video, the two detectives climb back into Hailey's car to drive back to the district. "Are you feeling okay? It sounds like you're getting sick," Hailey asks him while at a red light.

"I'm fine," Jay tells her.

"Okay, but if you start to feel sick and want to go home, I'll give you a ride," Hailey tells him.

Jay nods, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the headrest.

The next time Hailey looks over to see Jay has dozed off.

* * *

As Hailey pulls the car up to the district, the change in motion wakes Jay up.

"What happened?" Jay groggily asks when he realized they are outside of the district.

"You fell asleep," Hailey answers before asking her own question. "Are you sure you're okay?" concern in her voice.

"Yeah, just tired. I'll crash early tonight if I can, and I'll be fine tomorrow," Jay answers more awake.

"Okay, but remember what I told you earlier," Hailey tells him, wishing her partner wasn't so stubborn.

Jay nods before getting out of her car, waiting for her to do the same so they can update the rest of the unit.

The video isn't much, but the team takes their time to carefully analyze it, not wanting to miss anything that could possibly help their case. Their effort on the video pays off when they spot a partial plate on a vehicle of a similar description.

Using the database, they are able to find out who the owner of the car is, a Christopher Daniels. Sending Kevin and Kim to collect Daniels, the two detectives and Rojas work on his paper trail to give them a head start in case he is their murderer.

While working on their computers, Hailey notices that Jay has developed a dry cough. Looking over to him, she notices that he also looks like he is running a fever. Hailey knows that he won't admit anything, so she decides to just keep an eye on him for now.

* * *

Half an hour later Kim and Kevin return to the bullpen after dropping Daniels off in one of their interrogation rooms.

Voight comes out of his office and announces, "Kevin, Kim. I want you to handle the interview. Vanessa, you'll observe it with me. Jay and Hailey dig into his contacts, I don't want any surprises."

Everyone goes to their assigned task, Voight and the three offices going to the interrogation room, leaving the two detectives in the bullpen on their own. Hailey looks over to Jay to find him squinting at his screen like it is giving him a headache, deciding to put him out of his misery, Hailey crosses the short space between their desks.

Bending down so she is at eye level with him, she calls his attention, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jay tells her unconvincingly. His voice cracking and his eyes have a fevered glaze.

"Babe, tell me the truth, it's just us," she coaxes.

"I think I'm getting a cold," he tells her reluctantly.

"Mmm-hmm," Hailey murmurs while feeling his forehead with her hand. "You're burning up, Jay, it might be the flu."

"I get fevers with colds, ever since the accident," Jay reminds her.

"I know, but I don't like how warm you feel. How 'bout you take some Tylenol and then lay down in the break room for a bit," she offers.

"No."

"Jay, rest for a while. I'll wake you in a couple hours and if you feel better you can get back to work."

Knowing he's not going to win, Jay reluctantly agrees. Hailey grabs the bottle of Tylenol before walking with him to the break room. She grabs a mug, filling it with water so he can take the medication, handing him the two pills. After making sure he's settled on the couch, Hailey goes back to the bullpen, closing the door hoping that he will actually sleep for an hour or two.

* * *

Forty minutes later, the rest of the team come back. "How did it go?" Hailey asks.

"Where's Jay?" Kim asks, noticing the other detective is missing.

"Break room. He's burning up, but won't admit he's getting sick. I told him to lay down for a little and if he felt better the could get back to work."

Kim nods before telling Hailey what happened, "We broke him in twenty minutes. Got his statement and he's being processed as we speak."

"Leave Jay," Voight tells Hailey. "Finish your reports and you're done for the day," he tells the team noting it's already six o'clock.

The team, minus Jay, get to work on their reports wanting to get out of there for the day.

When Hailey finishes her paperwork almost an hour and a half later, she pulls out her phone to text Will before waking Jay.

_Are you working?_

_Yes. Between patients, what's up?_

_The flu is going around the district. Last week it hit our unit with both Kevin and Adam. I think Jay has it. Should I bring him to Med or take him to an urgent care?_

_Bring him here, I want to check him out for myself._

_Okay, be there in twenty._

Hailey puts her phone in her pocket before going into the breakroom to grab Jay. Walking up to him, she sees that he is shivering even though he is wearing his hoodie still.

"Jay, time to wake up," she whispers while rubbing his back.

"Hailey?" Jay asks tiredly.

"Yeah, how are you feeling?"

"Not great."

"I talked to Will and he wants me to bring you in."

"No. No hospitals, I promise I'll rest."

"Sorry, we're not chancing it. He wants to see you for himself," Hailey tells him as she helps up from the couch.

"Wait. What about work?" Jay questions confused.

"We closed the case. We were just doing our reports."

"I need to do mine."

"You can do it later," Hailey tells him leading him out of the bullpen, leaving her car keys with Vanessa so she can get home, knowing she's probably going to end up staying with Jay.

* * *

Just like she told Will, the two arrive at Med twenty minutes later. Parking Jay's truck, Hailey text Will to let him know that they are there before exiting the vehicle and walking towards the entrance.

Will spots the two as they enter the ED. Going over to them he does a mental exam of his brother, "Treatment six is open," he tells them while leading them to the area.

After Jay gets settled on the bed, April comes in to take his vitals. "102.4," she reads after scanning the thermometer across his forehead. "Have you taken anything for that?"

"Tylenol two and a half hours ago," Hailey answer for him before turning to Jay. "How were you standing?" He just shrugs his shoulders.

"Okay, Dr. Rhodes will be in soon," April tells them.

Not five minutes later does Rhodes appear in Jay's exam room.

"Detective Halstead, what brings you in this time?" He asks while putting on a pair of gloves.

"Hailey and Will worry too much," Jay tells the black-haired doctor.

"You have a compromised immune system since you lost your spleen when you were overseas," Will tells Jay.

At the same time, Will is scolding Jay, Hailey tells Rhodes, "The flu is going around the district and it hit our unit last week with two people. Jay's immunocompromised, so we're being careful."

"Okay, how long have you been feeling sick?"

"This morning," Jay answers after getting a look from both his brother and partner.

"We can do a rapid flu test, but it might be too early for it to be detected," Rhodes tells the sick detective.

Jay only grunts in response.

Rhodes grabs a rapid flu test kit before giving the instructions to Jay. "Tilt your head back," Jay does as he is told and Rhodes places the swab up his nose. When he is done with the first side Jay rubs at his nose. "Okay, are you ready for the second side or do you need a second?"

Jay answers by sneezing three times into his hands. "I'm good," he answers after a second.

Rhodes repeats the same thing with the second side causing the same reaction from Jay. "Results should be back in fifteen minutes," he tells the group before leaving the room.

"What're your symptoms?" Will asks wanting to make sure Jay isn't developing pneumonia.

"I'm fine."

"Earlier he said he was tired, he has a fever, dry cough, I'm guessing a headache from the way he was looking at his computer at work, sounds congested and like he has a sore throat," Hailey informs Will of what she noticed.

"Classic flu symptoms and you've been in close contact with two people who've had the flu," Will tells Jay before turning to Hailey. "Are you staying with him?"

"Yeah, unless you want to instead."

"I can't. Just started an eighteen-hour shift."

"Okay, we'll be fine."

"Thanks, I'll write you a list of what you should probably get," Will tells her as he walks out of the room in search of paper and a pen, leaving the two detectives alone.

"You don't need to stay with me," Jay tells her.

"I'm staying. You would do the same."

* * *

Twenty minutes later both doctors are back in the room. "You tested negative, but since you've been around two people with the flu in the last week, it's most likely that it's too early for it to be detected. I'm going to prescribe Tamiflu for you, especially since you're immunocompromised. Twice a day for five days."

"Hailey's going to stay with him," Will tells him.

"Okay, you too Hailey. Once a day for ten days to help prevent you from catching it too."

"Feel better, Jay," Rhodes tells him before leaving the room.

"Here," Will hands Hailey the list he made. "Try to get him to eat when he takes it. If he takes it with food, the less likely it will upset his stomach. And if he gets too uncomfortable because of the fever put a lukewarm cloth on his head; if it's cool it could make him shiver and bring his fever up more. Call me if you need anything or if his fever lasts more than three days."

Hailey thanks Will before leaving with Jay. On the way to his apartment, she stops at a pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled and to grab the items that Will listed for her.

Hailey leaves Jay in the car while she gets what is on the list. Hailey goes to the pharmacy to get the scripts filled before she walks around in search of the items on Will's list. Hailey grabs two bottles of blue Pedialyte, crackers, a joint pack of DayQuil and NyQuil, cough drops, and apple sauce. By the time she finds everything on the list, the scrips are filled.

After checking out, Hailey returns to the truck to find Jay asleep leaning against the window. After carefully getting in so to not disturb Jay, Hailey starts the truck and drives to her next stop, a deli near Jay's place.

Hailey goes in and orders a container of soup for Jay and gets herself a sandwich, before finally taking Jay home.

Once inside his apartment, Hailey leaves Jay on the couch so she can get their food. "Here, eat this," Hailey orders Jay handing him half a bowl of soup with one hand and her own sandwich is in her other hand.

"Not hungry."

"You need to eat something so you can take the Tamiflu."

Jay forces himself to eat what she gave him before taking the pill with some of the Pedialyte. Seeing that he is falling asleep on the couch, Hailey suggests, "Why don't you go change and lay down in your bed?" Jay only nods going to his room.

Hailey takes her time putting away the items she picked up at the pharmacy. Deciding to check on Jay, Hailey slowly opens the door to check on him to find in wearing a heavy hoodie bundled under many blankets.

Sighing, Hailey goes over to him knowing she has to wake him. "Jay, wake up, Babe," she whispers.

He slowly opens his eyes, "What?"

"Too many layers. You need to lose some."

"But I'm cold."

"You only feel cold because of the fever," Hailey tells him while helping him sit up taking the hoodie from him along with all the blankets but the sheet and the comforter.

"Hailey, I'm freezing. Give me some blankets back," Jay asks, not caring if it sounds like he is whining.

Hailey places a hand on his head, "You're still burning up. You can have some back once you're fever goes down."

"Stay?" Jay asks. "You took my blankets away, stay, please?"

"Okay," Hailey answers climbing next to Jay on top of his remaining blankets. Jay lays down resting his head in Hailey's side falling to sleep.

With Jay sleeping, Hailey decides it wouldn't hurt if she took a nap as well.

* * *

Hailey wakes up an hour later with something really hot in her side an hour later. Realizing that it is Jay, she grabs the thermometer she brought in to his room from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Placing the device in his ear she gets a reading of 103.2, almost a full degree higher.

"Jay, baby, wake up."

He gives an incoherent mumble.

"Jay, you're burning up. You need to take something."

"'m 'wake."

"I'm sorry, do you want Motrin or NyQuil?"

"NyQuil," Jay answer while coughing.

Hailey goes to grab the desired medication along with Pedialyte and a wet rag. Hailey comes back a moment later with the wanted items.

Breaking open the packet, she hands him the two pills and the bottle, "Here, try to drink some Pedialyte."

"Don't feel like it."

"You need to drink. I don't want to take you back to Med for dehydration to get IV fluids."

With the threat of an IV, Jay drinks enough to satisfy Hailey for now. Taking the bottle back, she has Jay lay back down and wipes his face and neck off with the rag. Jay moans, the rag feeling good on his hot skin.

Hailey then lays the rag across his forehead, leaving it there. "Does that feel better?" she asks.

"Yeah, thanks. Lay with me?"

Hailey lays back next to Jay, hoping both the medicine and the rag will help bring his fever down.

* * *

The next morning, Hailey wakes up to find Jay still sleeping. Looking at the clock, she decides to let him sleep for another hour before waking him for more meds.

Hailey spends the next hour going through both her personal and work e-mails. Hailey feels Jay shifting next to her, "Hey, how're feeling?"

"Hot, sick," he croaks.

"Okay, you can have more Tamiflu and DayQuil, but you need to eat something first," Hailey tells him, frowning at the heat radiating off of him.

"No, food. Just the meds."

"You need to eat to take the one. I can make you toast or eggs," Hailey offers.

"Eggs," Jay answers not wanting to think of how toast would feel on his throat.

Hailey makes the egg and brings in the meds to Jay's room. After giving Jay the meds, she takes his temperature again getting reading of 102.6. Jay spends most of the day sleeping, only waking up to use the bathroom or when Hailey makes him eat to take the medicine.

* * *

On the fourth day, Jay's fever finally goes below 101. And it takes another two days for his fever to completely break. As Jay slowly gets better he migrates from his bed to the couch, staying up for longer periods of time.

"How are you feeling?" Hailey asks the day before he is supposed to go back to work.

"Better, really. I just hate that I get so sick because I don't have that one organ."

"I know, and I hate seeing you so sick. Are you sure you're ready to go back?"

"Yeah, I need to. I'm going crazy."

"I know. I love you."

"I know, thanks for taking care of me. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with when I'm are sick," Jay tells her, still afraid to tell anyone that, fearful that they would leave him, but he says it with his eyes.

"Come on, let's go to bed. I might need to retrain you, it's been a week since you were at work," Hailey teases him. The two go to bed and Hailey is glad that she's no longer sleeping next to a furnace, but at the same time is going to miss spending this much time with him once she goes back to her own home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 102.4= 39.1  
> 103.2= 39.6  
> 102.6= 39.2  
> 101= 38.3


	10. J is for Jellyfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halstead luck comes once again where their suspect is trafficking exotic animals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: May 14, 2020

In the intelligence bullpen, Sergeant Hank Voight is briefing his team on their latest case. "Okay guys, this is Collin Douglass," he tells them pointing to the picture on the board. "He's wanted for trafficking exotic animals. A reliable source tells us that he has the animals stored at a warehouse in the West Loop. We're going to raid the warehouse later today, but for now, I want Adam and Rojas to dig up everything you can on Douglass. Kim and Kev, I want you to check with your CIs. Hailey and Jay go to the warehouse and keep – make sure he's working alone. If you see anyone else going into the warehouse stay put and let us know. Do not go after them yourselves," Voight directs that last sentence to Jay before dismissing his team to their assignments.

Adam and Vanessa go to their computers to dig up what they can while the other four go to where the cars are.

* * *

Getting into Jay's truck, Hailey asks, "What kind of animals do you think he's trafficking?"

"I don't know, but either way we need to bring him in."

"Do you think we should bring in animal control?" Hailey questions.

"When we close the scene. The last thing we need is for them to get in the way and Voight to get pissed."

The drive to the warehouse is focused on Hailey reading the case file on Douglass so both she and Jay have the information that they might need.

Arriving at their location, Jay parks where they are out of view of the warehouse but the warehouse is in their view. Jay grabs the camera from the back seat and hands Hailey the binoculars.

The two sit on the warehouse for four hours before Voight calls them back to the station to regroup. In that time, Jay managed to get many pictures of Douglass going in and out of the building– sometimes by himself and other times he would have something in his hands.

* * *

Back at the district, Jay is putting the pictures he took up on the whiteboard, "Douglass appeared to be alone. He entered and left the warehouse multiple times. There were times where he had nothing with him, but most of the time he was carrying something– always covered with some kind of tarp," Jay catches the rest of the team up to what he and Hailey knows.

"Did you see what he had?" Ruzek asks.

"No, but it was different each time. The containers he was bringing in to the warehouse were all different sizes."

The other two pairs take turns sharing the information that they learned before making a plan on how they are going to bring in Douglass.

"Hailey and Jay, I want you to cover the back entrance; Rojas and Kev, take the side entrance; and Kim and Adam, I want you to take the front with me," Voight assigns them. "Remember, we don't know what kind of exotic animals he's trafficking so be careful that you don't get too close to any of them."

"Should we bring in animal control?" Vanessa asks.

"We'll call them once we have Douglass in our custody," Voight answers her. "We don't need them getting in the way of apprehending Douglass."

With the information that they got from Kevin's CI, the team has about three hours to prepare for their raid on the warehouse. In that time, they make sure that everyone knows the layout of the building and that the long guns and their guns are cleaned and ready for their raid.

"Please be careful," Hailey asks Jay.

"I always am," he responds.

"Then why have you landed in the hospital more than the rest of the team combined? Including the people who aren't in the unit anymore," Hailey questions.

"Because…" Jay doesn't have an answer for that.

"My point exactly, we don't know what kind of animals this guy has on him. They could be deadly– you need to be careful."

"We all need to be careful," Jay corrects her.

"I trust the rest of the team to be careful, I don't trust you to be."

Jay raises an eyebrow at this statement,

"You know I trust you with my life, I just don't trust you with yours."

"I guess I deserve that," Jay sighs defeated

They spend the rest of their time getting their weapons ready in a comfortable silence.

* * *

Getting into their place outside of the warehouse, the team prepares to breach the building. Hailey and Jay get into position to breach the back entrance, looking at each other waiting for Voight's command.

Hearing the order, Hailey and Jay breach through the back entrance; Jay in first and Hailey steps behind him.

They carefully make their way through the warehouse. Looking around, they see rows of cages and tanks covering the shelves. "Well this answers my question," Hailey comments to Jay as their flashlights land of the shelves. Douglass is trafficking everything one can name, from fish to reptiles to birds.

Not finding Douglass, the team starts to meet in the middle of the warehouse, but Jay hears a noise and takes off before Hailey can stop him. She and the rest of the team can hear Jay yell, "Stop! Police!" Followed by heavy footsteps, a crash, and the sound of Jay yelping in surprise.

Hearing the commotion, Hailey is the first one to run in Jay's direction, quickly followed by Kevin and Adam. Rounding the corner, they see Jay on the ground, shaking out his arm in an attempt to get whatever attached itself to him off.

"Jay, what happened?" Hailey asks, by his side in an instant.

"Son of a bitch threw a jellyfish at me," Jay tells her. By now the rest of the team has caught up to them, Kevin and Rojas go after Douglass while Adam, Kim, and Vought stay with the two detectives.

"Do you need me to pee on it?" Adam asks.

"No," Kim yells at him. "That's a myth. We need to get it off of Jay without touching it. It's going to keep stinging him until all the nematocysts are used up," Kim tells them while grabbing a metal pole and uses it to pry the jellyfish off of Jay's arm. "Call an ambo and find something to put that in."

"How do you know this?" Hailey asks, both curious and relieved that someone knows how to help Jay.

"I had a summer job as a lifeguard, we had a lesson on how to deal with animal attacks in the ocean even though we're nowhere near the ocean," Kim tells her before turning her attention to Jay. "How are you feeling Jay? Honestly, we don't know what kind of jellyfish it is, it could be really dangerous."

"It hurts and itches at the same time," Jay tells her, trying not to show much emotion, even though she can see the pain in his eyes.

"Ambo will be here in three minutes," Voight tells them.

Noting that his arm is getting red where the tentacles wrapped around him, "Jay are you allergic to jellyfish?" Hailey asks.

"I don't know, I've never been stung by one before," Jay answers her.

Kim can see the worry in Hailey's eyes when Jay answers her, as she wrangles the creature into the plastic container Adam found for her. "Hailey, breath. Help is coming and he's still conscious and alert," she tells her friend.

Before anyone else could utter another comment, the paramedics of Firehouse 51 appeared in the warehouse.

"What happened?" Sylvie Brett questions the group.

"Our suspect threw a jellyfish at Jay. It landed and attached itself to his arm," Kim tells her since Hailey is too preoccupied with Jay.

Brett raises an eyebrow at the officer, not believing what she is hearing.

"The suspect was trafficking exotic animals. The one that stun Jay is in this box," she explains as she points to the container that holds the jellyfish in question.

"Okay, let's get a set of vitals on him before we go to Med," Brett directs at Foster. "Can you walk?" she asks Jay.

Jay nods, getting up to go to the ambulance. Before he is able to take a step, Jay sways some only to be steadied by his partner.

"Hailey go with him," the group hears Voight tell them over their retreating backs.

* * *

Sitting on the gurney in the back of the ambulance, Jay gets his vitals taken by Foster as Brett examines where the jellyfish stung him.

"How are you feeling?" Brett asks.

"Okay."

"Breathing okay? Any nausea, dizziness, or anything abnormal?"

"Yes, no, no, and no," Jay answers.

"Earlier he said that it itched and hurt at the same time," Hailey tells the blonde paramedic, knowing Jay will omit information if not asked about it directly.

"Okay, we can't do much for you right now because we don't want to interfere with anything they might do at Med," Brett answers them.

"If he's allergic to bees does that mean he'll have a reaction to the jellyfish?" Hailey questions still worried about her partner.

"He's right here," Jay cuts in, annoyed.

"Both have venom, but it's not the same. I don't think so if he hasn't reacted yet," Brett answers ignoring the injured detective. "Foster, you good to drive?" Brett asks the other paramedic.

Foster nods, getting out of the back of the ambulance and gets into the front of the vehicle.

"This is unnecessary," Jay complains as they feel the ambulance taking off.

Before Brett can say anything, Hailey scolds him, "This could be dangerous."

"I've had enough of hospitals lately."

"I know, but this _needs_ medical attention," Hailey answers putting a hand on Jay's uninjured arm.

* * *

Arriving at Med, the two paramedics unload Jay with Hailey close behind. Going inside of the ED, they are met by a swarm of people, including a worried older brother.

"Jay, what happened?" he asks pushing his way through.

"The team is overreacting," Jay tells him.

"Our suspect was trafficking exotic animals. We heard a noise and Jay went after him before the rest of us knew what was happening. By the time we got to him, he was on the ground trying to shake off the jellyfish," Hailey fills in the older brother and Choi.

"Do you have the-" Choi starts to ask only to be interrupted by Hailey handing him the container with the jellyfish. Choi hands the container to the nearest nurse, "See if you can find out what type of jellyfish this is." Choi then turns back to Jay, "Let's get another set of vitals on you."

Choi takes another set of vitals on Jay. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Earlier he said that it itched and hurt," Hailey adds.

"Okay. I can see some welts from where the tentacles had you. We'll get you on some anti-histamines for now and hopefully soon we'll know what type of jellyfish it was."

"When can I leave?"

"I'd like to keep you for observation for at least a few hours. Your blood pressure is low, your heart rate is high, and you're running a low-grade fever. Once we find out what type of jellyfish it was, I'll have a better idea of when you can leave."

Hearing this, Jay groans causing Hailey to grab his arm in a comforting manner.

"I'm going to send April in to start an IV," Choi tells them before leaving the room, forcing Will out at the same time.

Hailey notices that Jay doesn't even flinch when April inserts the IV into his arm. "How's your arm?" Hailey asks when April leaves.

"Fine," Jay grunts.

"Jay," she sternly said.

"It really hurts," Jay admitted, leaning his head against the pillow, clutching his arm in his hand- his façade dropping when it's just the two of them.

"I know. Do you want me to see if you can get some pain meds?" Hailey questions concerned.

"No," Jay moans.

Before Hailey can argue, Choi comes back into the treatment room. "We were able to figure out what kind of jellyfish it was that stung you. The most common name for it is the Mauve Stinger; the good news is it's not dangerous, but the bad news is you're going to be feeling it for a while."

"How long is a while?" Hailey questions.

"A week, maybe two."

"What happens now?" Jay grits out.

"We're going to rinse it off with simulated seawater and then apply a mixture of the simulated seawater and baking soda. After that we will apply cold packs for five to fifteen minutes reassess the pain and ice it for an additional five minutes if needed," Choi tells the two detectives.

"What happens after that?" Hailey asks.

"If he's still in pain I can prescribe him a painkiller and anti-inflammatory creams."

"When can I go home?"

"I want to keep you for observation for a few hours to make sure you don't have a delayed allergic reaction. You have to be careful though in the future; there can be cross-reactivity, an allergic reaction, if you get stung by a Portuguese man o' war or sea nettles."

Before they can ask any questions, a nurse walks in with the simulated seawater solution. Choi runs the solution over Jay's arm. He then puts the mixture over the detective's arm. "Leave that on for two minutes," Choi tells him.

When the two minutes go by, Choi uses a plastic card to scrape off the mixture from the detective's arm. "Okay, I'm going to get some cold pack for you," Choi tells him as he gets up.

"How are you feeling?" Hailey asks when they are once again alone.

"It helped a little, but not much," Jay tells her, eyes showing how much pain he is in.

Before Hailey can reply, Choi comes back in with the cold packs. "Leave this on your arm until the timer goes off," he tells Jay. "Make sure he keeps it on," he turns to the blonde detective.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Choi is back to check on Jay. "How's the pain now?" he asks the detective, giving him a look.

"Bearable," Jay answers.

"Okay, then. On a scale of one to ten; one being mild and ten being the worst pain in your life."

"Five," Jay answers.

"If he's saying five, it probably more like a eight or a nine," Hailey interrupts.

"Okay, we'll get you some pain meds," Choi tells him. "If you don't have any reaction in the next four hours I can send you home."

"Four hours?"

"You're lucky I'm not keeping you overnight."

"Okay, I'm going to fill in the team. I won't be long; try not to escape while I'm gone," Hailey tells her partner.

"You're coming back?" Jay questions.

"Yes, don't give them too much trouble," Hailey reminds him as she walks out of his room to go outside so she can use her phone.

"I'll have April give you something through your IV and I'll send you home with some anti-inflammatory creams. If you need anything hit the call button."

Jay nods in acknowledgment before Choi leaves the treatment room.

* * *

"How's Halstead?" Voight answers when he picks up the phone.

"He's going to be fine. Good news is that the jellyfish wasn't dangerous; bad news is, he's going to be feeling the sting for up to two weeks. Choi wants to keep him for observation for four hours and if he doesn't have an allergic reaction, he can go home."

"I assume you're staying with him," Voight states.

"Yeah, he seems pretty eager to leave. I don't want to chance giving him an opportunity to escape."

"Okay, I'll have Rojas and Kim drop your car off at the hospital," He tells her before hanging up.

Hailey looks at her phone before going back to Jay's room.

"You're still here," Hailey jokes when she gets back to Jay.

"You asked so nicely," Jay deadpans.

"How are you feeling?"

"The pain meds really help," Jay admits.

"Good, so Voight is sending over Vanessa and Kim so we have a car," Hailey informs him. Jay groans hearing this. "What's wrong? Is it your arm?" Hailey asks concerned.

"No, do they have to come here. I don't feel up to visitors."

"Jay, everyone's worried about you."

"It's just embarrassing," Jay tells her.

"It could have happened to anyone of us."

"Of all the work-related injuries I've had, this has to be the stupidest," Jay complains.

Hailey rubs his good arm, not knowing what to say to him. "Why don't you try to sleep some, hopefully by the time you wake up you can go home," Hailey suggests.

"You're staying?" Jay questions.

"Yeah, try to sleep some."

Jay turns on to his side, back facing Hailey, knowing he can trust her.

* * *

An hour later Vanessa and Kim walk into the ED. "Hey, Maggie," Kim greets the charge nurse.

"Hey, guys. You here to drop off car keys for Hailey?" she asks.

"Yeah, we were hoping to see Jay too," Vanessa adds.

"Sorry, Hailey said that he didn't want visitors and he is sleeping right now," Maggie answers sympathetically.

"Is he okay?" Kim questions.

"He's going to be fine. Dr. Choi is releasing him in a couple of hours if nothing changes," she tells them. "I'll make sure that Hailey gets the keys," Maggie reassures the two officers.

They leave disappointed that they couldn't check on their teammate, but at the same time glad that he was going to be okay.

Soon after the two leave, Will brings a file to the nurses' station. "Hey, Will," Maggie calls. Will turns his attention to her, "You about to check on Jay?" she questions.

"If you don't have another patient for me," he answers.

"Nope, but if you can give this to Hailey," Maggie tells him while handing over the keys. "Kim was here with Vanessa to drop off Hailey's car. Mind bringing her her keys?"

"No problem," Will answers taking the keys from her. Will leaves the nurses' desk in the direction of his brother's room.

Seeing that Jay is sleeping, he quietly goes to Hailey, handing her the set of keys. "How's he doing?" asks the older brother.

"Okay, the pain meds really helped. He's been sleeping for an hour now," Hailey tells him.

"That's good. His body's been through a lot today."

* * *

Jay wakes up half an hour before Choi is set to discharge him. "Hey, Choi is going to get your charge paperwork soon," Hailey tells him.

"Okay," Jay answers, still sleepy from the pain meds.

Hailey spends the next half an hour catching Jay up on what she was told about the case.

"Ready to get out of here?" Choi asks as he walks into the room.

"Yes," Jay answers immediately.

"Okay, keep your arm dry except for the anti-inflammatory cream and take the pain medicine if you need to," Choi instructs. "I'm putting you on medical for two weeks," Choi continues, inferring that he doesn't trust Jay to take the time off until his arm is no longer causing pain, on his own.

Hailey understands his unspoken words, "I'm staying with him for the first couple of days to keep an eye on him," Hailey informs the doctor.

Jay looks over, surprised by her words, "You thought I was going to just drop you off to fend for yourself? Not happening partner."

Once receiving all of the aftercare instructions and prescriptions Hailey drives the two of them to Jay's apartment.


	11. K is for Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay's military past comes back to haunt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 6 after Jay finds out about Hailey and Adam  
> Completed: May 20, 2020

After finishing their second day on a military case that is getting personal for Jay, the officers and detectives of the team decided to meet at Molly's to destress. The group is settled at a table in the back, all listening to some story that Ruzek is telling in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere that seems to be hanging in the group– all but Jay, who seems to be in his own world.

Hailey notices that her partner seems out of it. She stares at him until he looks up and his green eyes meet her blue ones. _Are you okay?_ She mouths. Jay nods then goes back to pretending he's paying attention to what Ruzek and the others are talking about, but Hailey knows better.

As the night goes on, the team slowly goes their own way. Antonio is the first to leave with the excuse that he wants to see his kids before they go to bed. Kim follows shortly after, saying she promised to FaceTime her niece.

With their small group slowly calling it a night, Jay decides he can safely leave claiming he has a headache, leaving Hailey, Kevin, and Adam. Another half an hour goes by before they decide to call it a night.

Kevin goes to his car while Adam drives himself and Hailey to his apartment.

* * *

"Where the hell is Halstead?" Voight questions his team the next day when he realizes one of his detectives is missing.

Everyone looks to Hailey as if she knows where her partner is. "I haven't heard from him since Molly's last night and he's not answering me," Hailey tells the rest of the team.

"Maybe he overslept?" Adam suggests.

"No, he can't sleep past eight o'clock if his life depended on it," Antonio reminds the officer.

"That's hard to believe," Adam pushes.

"He's up by seven-thirty even when he's sick. Will told me the last time Jay had the flu he had to force him to go back to sleep," Hailey informs her boyfriend with a pointed look, daring him to argue.

"Alright. Kev, track his phone- see where he was last," Voight order, knowing Jay has a habit of going rogue plus the added knowledge that military cases tend to get to the missing detective.

Kevin, who is used to tracking his siblings' phones, is able to locate Jay's in no time at all. "His truck is outside of his apartment building," he announces.

"Okay, Hailey and Antonio go to his apartment," Voight orders the two detectives, knowing that Jay is closest to and most likely to open up to them. "Everyone else, keep digging. There has to be something that we're not seeing."

* * *

"Have you notice anything off about Jay lately?" Hailey asks the older detective.

"Not really, considering what our case is," he answers.

"Do you think he's okay?"

"He will be eventually."

Arriving at his apartment building the two detectives step out of Antonio's car. Hailey spots Jay's truck and goes up to it.

Looking around Hailey turns to Antonio, " Nothing seems out of place."

"Okay, do you want to see if he answers first, or do you want to find the super first?"

"We don't need to find the super," Hailey tells him. "I have an emergency key he gave me after Kevin was kidnapped and Voight made us trade keys," Hailey explains after getting a questioning look.

Antonio takes her explanation and motions that he will follow her to Jay's apartment unit.

Arriving in front of Jay's unit, Antonio knocks loudly on the door. "Jay open up! It's Antonio and Hailey!" he announces.

There is no answer on the other side of the door. Antonio tries again, even louder this time. When there is still no answer, the two detectives look at each other, Antonio silently telling Hailey to use her emergency key.

Hailey unlocks the door as Antonio draws his gun. Drawing her own gun, Hailey slowly pushes the door open.

The two detectives enter, looking around carefully. They go through each room, not finding the missing detective. "Nothing looks out of place," Antonio announces putting his weapon away.

"It doesn't even look like he's been here," Hailey comments.

"We should let Voight know what we found, or what we didn't find," Antonio replies.

* * *

_The night before_

Jay walks out of Molly's after a long might. He really didn't feel like socializing, but his team left him without a choice; so he sucked it up and spent a couple of hours with them. Once some of his teammates began to call it a night for different reasons, Jay told the remaining three at the table that he had a headache and left, calling it a night. It wasn't really a lie, the case was giving him a headache. So far, they have four missing people and the only connection they can find is that they all met with a Max Roberts forty-eight hours before they went missing. Normally it wouldn't be something that bothers him, but Roberts is a veteran– served in the Army and did two tours in Iran. He's just having a hard time wrapping his mind around a brother being responsible for the missing people.

Not one to open up about his thoughts, the only person he would even think of talking with is Hailey, but she's been busy with Ruzek.

Getting in his truck, Jay makes the short journey to his apartment complex– mulling over the case and the facts he doesn't want to be true.

Jay, so lost in his thoughts, doesn't realize he has a shadow. He didn't realize he was being followed. He didn't realize it until he felt something hard and cold make contact with the back of his head, sending him into darkness.

* * *

Making sure the detective is unconscious, Roberts drags him into the van. Once inside, Roberts ties Jay up so he cannot escape making sure to gag him with a rag of chloroform so he won't wake up until they get where he wants. He then goes back for his bat so there is no evidence before getting in the van and driving away.

Once at his destination, Roberts once again drags the detective to the basement of his rented space. He ties Jay's arms up to the chains from the ceiling, leaving Jay dangling– arms above his head, feet barely touching the ground.

Roberts removes the gag and leaves the basement, knowing it will be a while before the detective will come to.

* * *

Close to an hour later, Jay slowly starts to come to. Taking in an inventory of how his boy feels, the first thing Jay realizes is the pounding in the back of his head. The second thing he notices is how sore his arms feel.

Gathering his senses, Jay realizes that he is chained to the ceiling. He moves so he is standing on the tips of his toes to take some of the weight off of his arms.

Looking around in search of anything that can help him, Jay hears the door to the basement creek open to reveal Roberts.

"Look who finally decided to wake up, detective," his kidnapper remarks.

"My team will know I'm missing soon. They'll know it's you," Jay tells Roberts, trying not to show his surprise when Roberts refers to him as a detective.

"They will. But there's nothing for them to track you with," he tells Jay. "Now that you're awake, we can have some fun."

Before Jay can say anything, Roberts takes a taser pressing it against Jay's side. The electric current causes Jay's body to convulse.

"Why are you doing this?" Jay questions once he has control of his body.

"Why don't you tell me, Detective? I know you were on to me."

"I know you served. You did two tours in Iran. You fought for this country, so why are you taking these people?"

"The detective isn't so smart. Maybe you'll figure it out before you end up like the others," Roberts answers before once again tasing Jay, this time into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Alright, does anyone have any idea of where Jay could be?" Voight asks when the two detectives come back without his missing detective.

"What if Roberts has him?" Kim throws out.

"Jay would have mentioned if he knew Roberts or any of the missing people?" Hailey responds.

"But what if they all have something in common, including Jay, and we just don't realize it," Antonio adds, piggy-backing off of what his partner said.

"Uh, Boss," Adam calls.

"What is it, Ruzek?" Voight answers.

"I think I just found the common denominator," he replies, having been looking into all the names they have while the rest of the team was talking. "Everyone including Jay served in some branch of the military. None of them are willing to talk about their time that they served. All of them had a smooth transition back to civilian life."

"Jay didn't," Hailey tells her boyfriend. "It took him a year to get his act together."

"But, he got it together," Adam argues. "Roberts is bouncing from job to job and overall still hasn't transitioned well."

* * *

"It's about time," Roberts tells Jay when he comes to. "I didn't shock you enough to kill you. We're not done having fun yet."

"Go to hell," Jay spits at him.

"Not the answer I was looking for," Roberts answers while taking a hose aiming at Jay's face in an attempt to waterboard him in a different way than the traditional torture method.

"Stop while you still have a chance," Jay tries. "If you turn yourself in and tell my team what happened to the other men, I'll tell them that you cooperated. I'm a cop, if you kill me– that's capital murder. You'll be locked up forever," Jay tells him.

"Doesn't matter. I don't have anything to live for," Roberts claims as he electrocutes Jay again.

Jay's body shakes as he is electrocuted. He tries to stay focused so he doesn't lose consciousness again, but his world once again goes black.

* * *

"Sarge," Kevin grabs Voight's attention. "Roberts has a rented space in his mother's maiden name in the South Side," he tells Voight while handing him the piece of paper with the address on it.

Voight looks at the paper in his hand. "Grab everyone. We roll in five," he tells the young officer.

Kevin nods before going to grab the rest of the team. No one sure of the exact amount of time Jay has been missing or the amount of time they have left to find their teammate and friend

Voight decides to brief the team on the way to their location, hoping it is where his missing detective is being held.

* * *

Arriving at their location, the team gets ready to breach getting into their assigned position with the long guns, waiting for Voight's signal.

Hearing Voight's signal, they breach. Upon entering the building, they are met with fire from Roberts. Kevin and Adam go after Roberts as he tries to escape. Hailey, Voight, Antonio, and Kim continue to search the building in case Roberts is not working alone.

Voight and Hailey take the upstairs while Kim and Antonio take the downstairs.

Upstairs, Voight and Hailey find evidence that Roberts had been stalking all of his victims, including Jay, in the weeks leading up to their kidnappings.

Hailey is shocked by all the pictures he has of Jay, surprised that Jay didn't realize he was being followed. There are pictures of Jay on his daily runs, of him at the gym, of the two of them, of Jay with other members of the team, and of Jay with his brother.

The gruff voice of her sergeant breaks her train of thought, "This all needs to go into evidence. This involves one of our own– that means no mistakes can be made."

* * *

Meanwhile, Antonio and Kim carefully search each room downstairs until they reach the basement. Antonio opens the door, allowing Kim to enter first- guns still drawn.

Making her way down the stairs to the basement, Kim gasps when she reaches the bottom and sees her friend and teammate.

Jay is still hanging from the ceiling by the chain, barely touching the floor. He is unconscious, his button-down shirt is open exposing the taser burns on his torso. He is drenched from the waterboarding and there is still some blood on his head where he was hit in the head when he was first taken.

The two carefully clear the rest of the basement before aiding Jay. Antonio holds Jay up in an attempt to take some of the weight off of his arms while Kim finds the lever to give slack to the chains so Jay can be lowered to the ground.

"Jay, are you with us?" Antonio asks while preforming a sternum rum.

Jay's head moves and a groan escapes his lips but otherwise stays the same.

The two look at each other, before letting out a breath of relief that he is still alive. "Guys, we found him in the basement," Kim tells the others through her radio.

"5021 Frank," Antonio calls into his radio. "I need an ambo at my location. I have an injured officer."

"Copy 5021 Frank. Ambo is ten minutes out," dispatch tells him.

Before the two are able to do anything else, Hailey comes rushing down the stairs, arriving at Jay's side in an instant.

"He's responsive," the older detective tells her.

Hailey nods while placing a hand on Jay's shoulder, hoping he can feel her presence.

Soon after Hailey arrives Voight and Adam appear in the basement, Kevin stayed behind to keep an eye on Roberts.

"Take him back to the district," Voight tells Kevin. "He talks to no one, I want him in the cage."

Kevin goes to leave just as Ambulance 61 arrives in the basement. Brett takes charge, getting a set of vitals on Jay and inserting an IV into his arm before placing him on a backboard. "Can you help us get him up the stairs?" she asks Voight, Antonio, and Adam.

Getting Jay up the stairs, they guys place him on the waiting stretcher to finish the journey to the ambulance.

Before Brett can ask who is riding with them, Hailey jumps into the back of the ambulance. "We're taking him to Med," the blonds paramedic tells the remaining members of the intelligence unit.

* * *

Arriving to the ED of Med, Jay is brought into a trauma room where Rhodes takes over for the paramedics. Will sees that it is his brother and can only stand helplessly with Hailey as they are pushed out of the room.

Will's face is stoic as he understands every word that is being said about his brother but can do nothing, while the words go over Hailey's head, concern on her face.

After a short amount of time, but what feels like forever, Jay is taken out of the trauma room for a CT and MRI of his head. Will and Hailey are left standing outside of the now empty trauma room.

* * *

Two hours later Jay is in an ICU room for observation with Will and Hailey by his bedside.

After waiting for hours without Jay waking up, Will goes on a coffee run, knowing they will need it and feeling comfortable that if Jay wakes up Hailey will be there for him.

Just after Will leaves the room, Jay groans before deciding to make his way back to the land of the living.

"Jay? Are you with me?" Hailey asks.

"Hailey?" Jay croaks.

"It's me. You're going to be okay," she tells him.

"Where am I?" Jay asks looking around confused. He knows he's in a hospital, but he doesn't know which one- he knows that if he's in Med, his brother can't be far.

Sensing what Jay's looking for Hailey answers, "You're at Med. Will just went for a coffee run, he'll be back soon.

"What happened?"

"You were kidnapped by our suspect."

"Why did he take me? I couldn't get it out of him."

"He was jealous of you and the others that you all could transition to civilian life post-military career," Hailey answer having been told that Adam's theory had been right an hour earlier after Voight spent some time with Roberts in the cage.

Jay doesn't have a reply, but shifts uncomfortably.

"Do you need pain meds?"

"No, when can I go home?"

"Tomorrow if everything looks good. They're keeping you for observation since you were tased several times, keeping an eye on your heart. You also have a mild concussion they want to watch."

"You should go. I'm sure Ruzek wants to spend time with you. I think I'm just going to sleep, besides, Will is going to leave."

"I'm staying. Adam understands you're my partner," Hailey reassures him. "Besides, who will save you from Will being a mother-hen?" she jokes.

Jay smiles a little, "Don't make me laugh,' he tells her. "It hurts."

"Sorry," she apologizes.

It is quiet for a moment before she asks, "Was something bothering you about this case?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was something on your mind? Distracting you? We found pictures of you that Roberts had. He was stalking you for at least two weeks."

"Nothing anymore that other military-related cases," Jay answers.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were busy with the case," Jay answer even though he wants to say, _you were busy with Ruzek_.

"Jay, if you need to talk, you know you can always come to me," she reminds him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I was just worried about you. We all were. The others are probably going to call later to check in with you. Will said you had enough excitement for one day and limited your visitors."

"How did you convince him to let you in?"

"He knew better," Hailey jokes. "But speaking of that, I should probably let you rest before Will changes his mind and kicks me out."

"I won't let him. You're staying?" he questions.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be. Besides someone needs to keep you from trying to escape," she tells him as he is starting to fall back to sleep.


	12. L is for Lindsay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does Lindsay's return do for Jay's well-being?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: Jan. 25, 2020

Jay walks into the bullpen on Tuesday morning to find that he is the last one in, he also sees that Voight's door is closed, something that Jay wouldn't have found unusual a few years ago but now it is odd.

Seeing that her partner had finally arrived, Hailey gets up and pulls him into the breakroom before anyone else can say something to him and closes the door, "Hey."

"Hey. What's going on?" Jay asks, hoping his partner will tell him the truth.

"How are you feeling? Any better, honestly?" Hailey asks referring to the cold he has been fighting most of the past week.

"I'm not feeling worse."

"Well, I have some news that probably isn't going to help you," she told him softly.

"What is it? What's going on?" Jay asks getting both impatient and worried.

"Our case. We've been ordered to work with a division from New York. They've already sent over two agents."

"Okay, so are we working with special victims again?" he asks not understanding why she pulled him into the break room to tell him this.

"No. We have to work with an FBI special task force. It's Lindsay's unit and they sent her since she used to work here."

"Oh," Jay breathes.

"Are you going to be okay with that?" she asks concerned, knowing what happened last time.

"I'm going to have to be, aren't I?"

"No one would judge you if you went home, I mean the rest of the unit knows you've been sick?"

"No. I can't run from it forever."

"Okay, but if you need to talk… I'm here. Doesn't matter what time," she offers.

"I know," he turns to go back to the bullpen, "Uh, thanks Hailey, for everything."

Hailey follows Jay back into the bullpen, where Voight is now standing by the whiteboard and Lindsay and the other agent are standing around the desks. Hailey sits next to Jay at his desk and a precaution to keep Lindsay from getting too close to him. Jay gives her a grateful smile.

"Alright, now that everybody is here," Voight announced, "The higher-ups are making us work with a New York division of the FBI special task force. They sent over Lindsay since she has worked here in the past and Agent Krystal Lane. Lindsay," he addresses, "Do you care to share what you have from New York?"

"This is James Ramirez," she informs the intelligence unit as she puts his picture up on the whiteboard, "He's has a record with both human and drug trafficking, but every time we get close to nailing him, he goes in the wind. That is until we got word that he showed up in Chicago. Now, looking at his background he has a couple of properties here as well as a handful of known associates."

"So, you guys are going to break up into pairs to check out the properties and associates," Voight instructs them.

"Atishoo! Aitshoo!" Jay sneezed, dropping his head into his hands. Hailey noticed and started to rub his arm in a comforting manner.

"Jay," Lindsay calls, "How about we check out his second-in-command? Just like old times?"

"No," Voight interjects, "Erin take Ruzek and check out the first property on the list; Halstead and Upton the second-in-command," Hailey is somewhat surprised, but happy at this pairing since she has been partnered with Rojas since Voight brought her up. Voight pairs the rest of the team and Agent Lane: Agent Lane and Atwater, Rojas and Burgess.

The pairs head out on their assignments, each going to their cars. In the parking lot, Hailey asks, "Do you want to drive?"

"Doh, you mind driving?"

"No. Are you sure you're okay with everything?"

"Not really, but I can't let her keep me from doing my job," he answers.

"If you need to do our thing, just let me know, although, I don't know if alcohol is the best thing for you right now."

"Thanks."

Arriving at the location of the second-in-command, Hailey and Jay get out of the car, putting the conversation on pause. Getting in position, Hailey yells, "Chicago PD! Open up!" When nothing happens, Jay kicks the door in.

Clearing the first two rooms, they move to the third, where they find their target with a bullet hole in his head, shot execution-style. They clear the rest of the house before going back to the body and calling it in.

Handing the scene over to uniformed officers, Hailey asks Jay, "Voight just texted me. How do you feel about checking out the third property?"

"I'm good. Where is it?"

"Across town. Why?"

"Just wondering."

The two drive in silence to the third property. Arriving at their destination, the two notice that it looks abandoned. Glancing at each other, they get into position to breach.

The two, again, find nothing.

"That was a waste of time," Jay complains as he fights a yawn.

"You sure you're good?" Hailey asks him.

"Yeah," he answers before clearing his throat. "Can we stop for coffee on the way back?" he asks hopefully.

"You're still sick, should you be drinking coffee?"

"Please Hailey. I don't think one cup will hurt with the day I've had."

Hailey sighs, "Fine, but no coffee when we get back to the district and you have to stay at the district for the rest of the day."

"Seriously, you're benching be."

Hailey gives him a look, letting him know she can hear the congestion in his voice, "You shouldn't be out in this weather. It's freezing out."

"Fine," he reluctantly gives in, "Thanks, Hailey. You're the best."

* * *

After making their coffee stop, Hailey and Jay return to the district to find that they are the last two back. When they step into the bullpen, Hailey sees that Lindsay is sitting at Jay's desk. Feeling him tense up next to her, she sits him down at her desk before sitting on her desk to be between the two.

"Well, what did you find?" Voight asks, referring to their second stoop, once they take their seats.

"It was a bust," Jay answers exhaustedly.

"Okay, I want you all to reach out to yo-"

"Achoo! Achoo!"

Voight glares at Jay, "Reach out to your CIs. See if any of them know anything," Voight orders before walking back into his office, closing the door.

Once his door is shut, Lindsay looks over to Jay, "Jay, can we talk?" she asks while tipping her head in the direction of the breakroom.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Jay tries to tell her.

"It will only take a couple of minutes."

"I…" Jay sees Hailey giving him an encouraging look, "Okay. I guess."

The pair walk into the breakroom. When Lindsay goes to close the door, Jay stops her, "Don't."

"Fine."

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Jay asks, crossing his arms across his chest. Jay hopes he is giving her the idea that he doesn't care, but at the same time he is also trying to stay warm.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," she replies, "It's been what? Two? Three years."

"I had so much to say to you when you first left. I called and called, I left text messages and voicemails, ready to beg you to stay or to let me go with you, but I never heard back. I would ask myself, _did I do something wrong, did I imagine our whole relationship, was there even a relationship, was I not enough?_ I loved you and trusted you. You broke down my walls, I let you in. And you left without so much as a good-bye. Did you ever even love me or was I just something you could toss to the side when you got bored?"

"I did love you. I still do, but when I left my life was complicated," she tries to defend herself. "Maybe we can go out to dinner and talk before I have to go back to New York?"

"I'm not really feeling up to going out right now," Jay tries to tell her, hoping she'd take the hint.

"I could come over to your place and take care of you," she offers placing her hand on his arm before he shakes her off.

"That's not a good idea," he tells her, "When you first left I was a mess, my PTSD was spiraling, I didn't know what to do with myself. It took Hailey giving me an ultimatum to get myself straightened out. I'm finally in a healthy place, I've moved on," he tells her, voice almost gone by the end of his small speech, before leaving her standing in the breakroom, unable to listen to any more of her excuses as they are giving him a headache.

Leaving her in the breakroom, he goes straight to Hailey. "Hey, how did it go?" she asks him.

"I got what I needed to say off of my chest," he croaked, "Do you have any painkillers?" he asks embarrassed.

"I have Tylenol," she answers while reaching into her desk drawer, "What's wrong?" she asks him, noting that he has close to no voice and he looks a bit flushed.

"Headache."

"Okay, you look a bit flushed. How do you feel besides the headache? Anything else different than before?" she questions as she hands over the pills and reaches for his forehead, "You feel a little warm."

"I think it's because she got me worked up."

"Okay, but if you feel worse, let me know and I can give you a ride home."

"Thanks," he tells her while nodding.

* * *

After a few more hours of nothing, Voight lets them leave for the night.

"Lindsay," Ruzek calls, "What do you say about hitting Molly's and seeing everyone. Introduce Agent Lane to the rest of the first responders of Chicago?"

"Sounds good to me, Krystal?" she asks.

"Sure, why not?"

"What about you two?" he questions the two detectives of the unit, as they are usually the wild cards of the bunch.

Hailey answers first, already having an idea of Jay's answer, "It's been a long day. I just want to go home and relax."

"I'm going to second what she said," Jay answers, feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

"Suit yourselves," Adam tells them as he and everyone who is going to Molly's head down the stairs.

"Do you want to come over and talk?" Hailey asks, knowing that a lot is probably going through Jay's head after seeing Lindsay for the first time in three years.

"I don't know."

"Come on Jay, I don't want you sitting by yourself. And I want to make sure you actually eat something for dinner."

"I'm not that hungry."

"I need to be able to trust that you're taking care of yourself."

"Fine, I can try."

"That's all I ask."

* * *

The two make it to Hailey's place; Jay riding with Hailey because she didn't know if she could trust him to drive and she would just give him a ride to work tomorrow. Opening the door to her house, Hailey ushers Jay inside to get him out of the cold air.

Hanging up her jacket, Hailey goes to take Jay's when he stops her, "I'm actually kind of cold."

"Give me your jacket and I'll get you a blanket." Jay reluctantly gives her his jacket, shivering as he loses the warmth. Hailey guides him to the couch, "I'll be right back," she tells him.

Hailey goes into her bathroom to grab the thermometer and then stops at the hall closet where she keeps the extra blankets. Making her way back to Jay, she wraps the blanket around his shoulders before holding the thermometer in front of him, indicating she wants to take his temperature.

Jay takes the device from her sticking it under his tongue. A minute later it beeps, letting them know the reading is done. Hailey takes it from her before he can react, not wanting him to lie about the reading, "What is it?" he asks when she has a chance to look at it.

"Low-grade fever, 100.7," she tells him. "I'm going to get you something to drink," she states as she makes her way to the kitchen.

A few moments later she returns with a steaming mug, "Here drink this," she orders as she hands him the mug.

"What is it?"

"Hot toddy."

Jay raises his eyebrows at this, "How do you know what it is? You're Greek," he questions.

"My roommate in my first year at college was from Irish decent," she tells him, giving no further explanation. "You drink that while I make us some soup for dinner."

"You're not having soup for dinner because of me?" Jay asks, not wanting to be a bother to his partner.

"Nope," she answers, "Not only is soup good for you when you're sick, but it is good on nights when it is freezing out, like tonight."

Jay drinks his hot toddy while Hailey is making them dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile in Molly's the folks from Firehouse 51 who remember Lindsay are excited to see her back.

"Lindsay, what are you doing in Chicago?" Herrmann asks.

"A case brought me here," she answers.

"How long are you here for?" Severide asks her as he gives Lindsay a side-hug.

"Until the case is solved."

After catching up with 51, Lindsay goes over to a table in the corner with the rest of the intelligence unit.

"Hey Kim," Lindsay calls.

"Yeah?"

"What's up with Jay and Upton? Are they together, is Voight okay with that?"

"They're not together, but they're pretty close."

"How close?"

"I don't know, but they've crashed on each other's couches before. They confide in each other."

"Are you sure about that? I mean, Jay won't sleep anywhere unless he feels safe."

"Erin," Kim sighs, "You're like a big sister to me, but you really hurt Jay when you left. I think it's the elephant in the room that he has abandonment issues, and you leaving without telling him in person, that did a lot of damage. He was a mess and then he accidentally killed a little girl and that opened pandora's box. I don't know what happened, but Hailey was the only one who was able to get through to him," she paused to let this sink in. "I understand that you had to leave and I understand you not saying bye to us, but to do that to Jay," she trails off.

"I know. Do you think he will ever forgive me?"

"I don't know. He has a big heart and that's his flaw."

* * *

When Hailey finishes the soup, she looks over to Jay to see that he has fallen asleep on the couch. Debating whether she should let him sleep or wake him to make him eat, knowing that both would be good for him, she decides he should eat, especially considering she knows he skipped lunch.

Walking over to the couch with a bowl for each of them, she places them into the coffee table before waking Jay. "Jay," she whispers while rubbing his arm, "Jay, wake up."

"What's the matter?" Jay asks, voice groggy.

"Soup is done. Come on, you need to eat," Hailey reminds him as she helps him into a sitting position.

"Thanks, Hailey," he says as she hands him the bowl. "What is it?" he asks as he takes a bite.

"Traditional Greek soup, it's like the equivalent to chicken noodle."

The two eat in silence, knowing what conversation lays ahead of them.

When the two finish, Hailey takes their bowls and puts them in the sink before returning to the couch. "Do you want to talk about Lindsay coming back?"

"I don't know what there is to talk about."

"Did she want something from you?"

"She wanted to go out to dinner and talk about why she left. I told her that I didn't feel up to going out, then she offered to come to my place to take _care of me_ ," Jay paused not knowing what to say next. "So I told her that I'm finally in a healthy place. That I spiraled and it took time to be okay."

"I'm proud of you," Hailey whispers as she pulls him to lean against her.

Tiredly he asks, "What did I do wrong?"

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why didn't she tell me she was leaving? I went to our apartment to find she packed up all her things."

"I know. And none of that is on you."

"Why does everybody leave me?"

"What do you mean everybody? Who are you talking about?"

"Mom, Dad, Will, Erin, Antonio, Al, Mouse." Hailey's heart breaks when she hears him list all the people who he thinks willingly left.

"Jay, your parents and Al, they didn't leave on purpose. They died, they didn't have a choice. As for Will, he came back, and I know he won't leave you again. Antonio needed a change in scenery. I know he wouldn't have left if he felt he didn't have to, and he did say bye to everyone. And we all still have some contact with him, so it's not like he forgot about us. And Erin, when she left, she didn't realize what she left. She couldn't see how great of a person she left. And I don't know who Mouse is."

"How come you haven't left yet?"

Hearing her partner ask that is like a punch to the gut, "Jay, I can't promise that I will never leave with our line of work, but I will promise that I will never intentionally leave you."

"What if another unit takes you or if you want to transfer?" doubt in his voice.

"I don't see myself transferring anytime soon; but if I was forced to transfer, I would tell you in person. And we could still do _our thing_ , it might just be a bit different." Jay is quiet, "How you feeling Jay?"

"Tired."

"Okay, I think I have some NyQuil if you want. You can sleep here or I can drive you home."

"You sure it's okay if I crash here?" Jay asks not wanting to make Hailey drive him home this late.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Hailey reassures. "I'm going to look for the medicine."

Hailey goes to check her medicine cabinet for the cold medicine, finding it after moving some things around, she checks the date to make sure it's still good before going back out to Jay.

"Bad news, it's the liquid version and not pills," she informs his as she hands over the bottle."

"Thanks," he says as he gags the liquid down.

Hailey makes sure that Jay doesn't need anything else before going to bed herself.

* * *

As everyone is leaving Molly's Vanessa and Erin are the last to make it to their cars.

"Shit, I can't find my hotel key," Erin curses.

"If you follow me you can crash on the couch," Vanessa offers, "I'm rooming with Hailey right now, but the couch is free."

"Okay, thanks," Erin agrees after realizing she doesn't have any other options as Kim has already left with Ruzek and she's probably going to get shot if she goes to Voight's at this hour.

Erin follows Vanessa to Hailey's house. Walking in Vanessa turns on the light not expecting the couch to be occupied.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting this," she tells the former intelligence member when she sees Jay sleeping on the couch.

"It's okay, I can sleep in the recliner," Erin tells the rookie.

"Okay, blankets are in the hall closet," Vanessa tells her before going to the spare room that she has been staying in.

Once Erin is sure that Vanessa went to bed, she squeezes herself onto the couch with Jay before falling asleep.

Jay wakes up a while later, sure that the cold medicine was giving him odd dreams, that was until he felt a body on the couch with him. Focusing his eyes he realizes it is Erin Lindsay.

Getting up without disturbing her, Jay goes to one of the two people in the world he knows he's safe with. Outside of her bedroom door, Jay doesn't want to disturb Hailey and at the same time he doesn't want to get shot, so he lays down on the floor outside of her door, falling back to sleep easily since the night-time medicine is still in his system.

* * *

Hailey wakes up to the sound of her alarm going off earlier than normal. Not being a morning person, Hailey wonders for a moment why she set it so early, before remembering that it was so she could check on Jay and drive to his place so he could get clean clothes before heading in to work.

Half-awake Hailey almost trips over her partner when she opens her door. Confused to why her partner is sleeping on the floor, shivering without a blanket, outside of her bedroom when she knows he was asleep on the couch when she left him, she wakes him up. "Jay. Wake up, Jay."

After a couple of minutes she is able to get him to stir. "Wha'?" he asks.

"Why are you on the floor? Did you have a nightmare?"

"Doh, I woke up in da middle of da night amd Erin was om da couch with be," he tells her.

"Jay, you sound terrible."

"I feel worse," he admits. Hailey places a hand on his forehead at this.

"Sleeping on the floor probably didn't help you. Come on," Hailey helps him up guides him to her bed where she tucks him in hoping to stop the shivering. "I'm going to grab the thermometer but I think your fever went up." Jay just nods his head, feeling too miserable to do anything else.

Hailey goes downstairs where she left the thermometer, to see Erin Lindsay asleep on the couch, covered in the blanket she left on Jay. She ignores the urge to yell at her in favor of helping her partner first.

Grabbing the device, she goes back to her room where Jay is barely awake, but seems to have stopped shivering, "Open," she orders. Jay does as he is told. When the device beeps, Jay does not move. Hailey takes it from his mouth sighing, "101.8. Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower and then I'm going to get us something to eat before I take you home. While I'm doing that try to get some more rest."

"Not hungry."

"I need you to eat a little bit so you can take something."

"'Kay."

After taking a quick shower, Hailey makes scrambles eggs, hoping that she can get Jay to eat enough that he can take more medicine. Leaving them on the stovetop, Hailey goes to wake Jay. "Jay, I made eggs. Eat a little so you can take something, then I'll drive you home."

After much coaxing, she is able to get him out of bed and into the kitchen. Jay is only able to eat about half of what Hailey gave him, but she figures that it is enough to let him take more medicine.

On the ride to his apartment, Jay doesn't complain about missing work. After making sure he was settled with the promise to check in at lunch, Hailey makes her way into work.

"Where's Jay?" Vanessa asks when she sees Hailey enter the bullpen by herself.

"At home, he's not feeling well. Can I talk to you in private?"

"What's up?" she asks when they walk into the breakroom.

"How did Lindsay end up on the couch?"

"What are you talking about? She said she would take the recliner."

"She was on the couch this morning," Hailey informs her.

"With Jay?"

"No. At some point during the night, he got up and ended up on the floor outside of my door."

"She lost her hotel key. I said she could sleep on the couch and when we got home, Jay was already there, so she said she would take the recliner."

"Okay, thanks for telling me. I need to let Voight know Jay won't be here today," Hailey states as she walks out of the breakroom.

Knocking on Voight's office door, Hailey asks, "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Jay's taking a sick day," she informs him as she shuts the office door behind her.

"Why isn't he telling me this himself?"

"He was over last night and he was doing okay. He was going to spend the night on the couch and then this morning I almost trip over him because he's sleeping on the floor outside of my room. Vanessa told Lindsay she could spend the night after some hotel key problem. I guess at some point through the night he woke up to find her on the couch with him and he freaked out. Slept most of the night on the floor without a blanket or anything to keep him warm. He sounded terrible this morning, I dropped him off at his place before coming in today."

"Okay," he replies in a tone that says the conversation is over while following her out to the bullpen.

"Lindsay and Lane, pack your things and leave my district," he orders them.

"This is our case," Lane argues.

"We can send over the reports for you to type up when we solve it, but you two are no longer welcomed in my district."

"What is this about, Hank?" Lindsay demands.

"Simple. Lines were crossed. Now go back to New York."

"What did you tell him?" she demands of Hailey.

"She was watching out for her partner," Voight informs her before Hailey has a chance to say anything. "Now leave. The two of you have overstayed your welcome."

Lindsay and Lane leave furious. Lindsay at Hailey, and Lane at Voight and also wondering what happened.

"What was that about? And where is Jay?" Ruzek asks the question that no one is brave enough to ask.

"Need to know and taking a sick day," Voight answers effectively shutting everyone up to do their work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 100.7= 38.2  
> 101.8= 38.8


	13. M is for Mono

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay gets sick for how long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Complete: Feb. 10, 2020

It was a slow day for the intelligence unit, it was as if the criminals of Chicago all decided to take the same day off. To keep his team busy and so they didn't kill each other with their antics, Voight decided to have his team update their CI files.

Hailey was working on her CI files while listening to Adam complain about there not being any action. After a while, Hailey gets tired Adam's complaining so she tunes him and everything in the bullpen out.

By tuning everything out, Hailey is surprised when Jay appears next to her desk instead of sitting at his own. "What's up Jay?" she asks. Jay tilts his head in the direction of the breakroom, indicating that he wants to talk in private.

Hailey follows him into the breakroom before repeating her question. This time Jay answers, "Can you give me a ride home? I don't feel good," he asks embarrassed.

Surprised by his admission, Hailey takes a closer look at her partner. He looks tired and pale, his face is flushed probably from a fever, "Yeah, what's wrong?" she asks reaching out to feel his forehead, which is burning.

"I just feel sick," Jay tells her, not liking how vulnerable he feels at the moment.

"You're burning up," she confirms. "Are you hot? Cold? Achy? Tired?"

Jay just shrugs, meaning 'yes, but I'm not going to admit it', at each symptom she list, giving Hailey her answer. "I have a headache and feel a little nauseous too," Jay tells her leaning into her touch as she still hasn't moved her hand from his forehead.

"What about your throat? It sounds sore," Hailey asks. Jay shrugs like before. "Okay, I'm going to tell Voight that I'm taking you home. Do you feel like you're going to vomit or do you just feel nauseous."

"Just nauseous."

"Okay, go grab your things," she tells him as she leaves the breakroom to talk with their Sargent.

"Sarge?" Hailey questions knocking at his door. Voight looks up from the paperwork on his desk. "I'm taking Jay home, he's not feeling well."

"What's wrong?"

"Don't know, but it sounds like the flu."

"Okay, are you going to stay with him?"

"I'm just going to make sure he gets in okay."

"Get him home before he spreads his germs here," Voight tells her ending the conversation.

* * *

"What about my truck?" Jay asks when they get in Hailey's car.

"Do you still have an extra set of keys in your desk?" Haile questions him. Jay nods. "Okay, I can drop it off tonight when I leave and have Vanessa follow me."

"Thanks."

The ride is quiet after that, Jay trying not to fall asleep to the movement of the car.

"Jay, we're here," Hailey wakes him.

"Thanks," Jay tells her as he gets out of her car. "What are you doing?" He asks confused when he sees her getting out of the car too.

"I'm making sure you get in your apartment okay," Hailey answers as she follows him into the building.

Jay opens the door to his apartment, "Happy?" he asks.

"Very," Hailey deadpans. "Go change, take something for your fever, and lay down. Do you want me to call Will?"

"No, I'll text him later."

"Okay. Feel better and call if you need anything," Hailey tells him as she leaves.

Once she leaves, Jay locks the door behind her before doing as she told him.

* * *

One o'clock hits and Hailey is just finishing her CI files when her phone rings. Looking to make sure it isn't Jay, Hailey sees that it is Will calling.

"Hey Will?" she answers.

"Is Jay okay?" Will answers.

"What?"

"Is Jay okay? He's not answering me."

"He said he would text you. I took him home probably two and a half hours ago. He wasn't feeling well. He's probably sleeping."

"What's wrong with him?" Will asks concern in his voice.

"I don't know. He just said that he felt sick, which I was surprised that he even said that. He had a fever, and mentioned a headache and feeling nauseous. I figured it was the flu, but I think this is your department, not mine."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"No problem. Let me know if he needs anything. I've already told him, but I doubt he actually will."

"I will. Thanks Hailey."

* * *

Will opens the door to his brother's apartment when he gets off of his shift later that day. Before going to his brother's apartment, Will made a stop to pick up some things for Jay, including: crackers, Pedialyte, broth, and some ginger tea. Placing those items on the counter, Will goes into his brother's room to check on him.

"Jay?" He knocks on the door. Opening the door, his nose is attacked by the smell of sick. Will turns on the light to see that Jay is sleeping and there is vomit in the bucket by his bed. Placing a hand on Jay's shoulder, Will can feel the fever through his shirt.

Will leaves his brother to grab the thermometer form the medicine cabinet. Placing the device on Jay's forehead Will gets a reading of 104.6. Eyes wide at the reading, Will knows that he has to wake up his brother, "Jay, wake up!"

"Wha'?" Jay asks confused.

"Jay, you're burning up. When was the last time you took something?"

"When Hailey dropped me off," he answers more awake.

"Jay, what's wrong? Don't lie."

"Throat, head, tired, cold. I got sick, sorry. I'll clean it when I'm more awake."

"It's okay, you got it in the bucket. Jay, can you touch your chin to your chest?" Will asks wanting to make sure Jay doesn't have meningitis. Jay looks at him confused but does as he is told with no problem.

"Okay. Jay you have a really high fever and you're dehydrated. I need to take you to Med. I'm going to take care of this," Will tells him referring to the bucket, "Then we'll go."

"I hate hospitals," Jay tells him. "I'll be fine- please don't make go," Jay begs.

"I know. But you need to go. I promise I will not leave you."

"Okay." Hearing Jay agree Will knows that his brother must really be sick.

* * *

"Will, I feel better. Really," Jay tries to convince him while lying in a bed in a treatment room at Med.

Before Will can rely, Natalie walks into the room. "What brings you here?" she asks while looking at the chart.

"Will worries too much," Jay answers.

"Hailey brought him home early from work. High fever, vomiting, probably dehydrated," Will list. "He mentioned a headache, but can touch his chin to his chest."

"Okay," Natalie says as she looks at Jay's chart. "Temperature is still high. Jay when was the last time you took something for that?"

"When Hailey dropped me off."

Natalie looks to Will for a better idea. "Maybe ten-thirty?" Will guesses.

"Okay, I'm going to take some blood and get an IV going."

"I swear, I'm fine," Jay tells them.

"It will only take a second," Will promises.

Will tries to distract Jay as Natalie sticks the needles into his arm. "All done," Natalie announces. She gets up and pats Jay's shoulder, "Try to sleep some."

"Do you need anything? Will asks after she leaves.

"To go home?" Jay tries.

"Sorry, Bud."

Jay leans back and drifts to an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later Natalie re-enters the room, "Did you get his blood work back?" Will asks.

"Yeah, can you wake him?"

"Jay? Time to wake up," Will calls.

"What's happening?" Jay asks when he comes to.

"Natalie has your blood test results back."

"So, it shows that you have high anti-bodies for Epstein-Barr virus."

"What's that mean?" Jay asks.

"It means you most likely have Mono," Will explains

"Most likely. How long have you been feeling sick?" Natalie asks.

"Honestly," Will reminds his brother.

"A week," Jay sighs.

"Jay," Will scolds.

"Okay in that case we can do the mono-spot test. It will take about an hour for the results to come back."

"Okay."

Natalie uses this as an opportunity to prick his finger to get blood, knowing his aversion to needles, before leaving.

Natalie leaves ttheo two brothers alone.

"How did I get this? I thought it was for kids," Jay asks closing his eyes.

"Adults can get it too. Why didn't you tell me you were sick last week?"

"Thought it was a cold."

* * *

 _How's Jay?_ Hailey texts Will while they were waiting for the test to come back.

_Pretty sick. Waiting for another test to come back._

_Any idea what's wrong?_

_Looks like mono. Said he's been sick for about a week. Has he seemed off at all?_

_No, but it's Jay. He wouldn't show it. Need anything? I can bring it by when I leave work._

_I should be able to bring him home in an hour or so. Can you stop by the store on your way home and get some popsicles, Jell-O, and apple sauce?_

_Yeah, any flavors I should avoid._

_Citrus could bother his throat more._

_Okay._

"Will," Natalie calls when she comes into the room. "He does have mono, so I want to take him for a CT scan to check his spleen."

"Okay."

"Do you want to wake him or leave him be?"

"Let him be I feel bad that we keep waking him," Will answers. Jay wakes up when they go to move the bed, "Jay go back to sleep; you're okay, they're just taking you to get a scan." Jay falls back to sleep, body exhausted from being sick.

He briefly wakes up again when he is transferred to the machine but falls back to sleep which is unusual for him.

* * *

"Verdict?" Will asks when Natalie reappears in Jay's treatment room.

"Wake him up?" Natalie asks.

Will does what he is told receiving a groan from Jay.

"What's happening?" Jay asks when he is more aware of his surroundings.

"Both tests came back," Natalie informs him. "You do have mono and your spleen is enlarged, a fairly common complication of mono."

"What does this mean? What about work?" Jay asks.

"Mono isn't an airborne illness, so you won't get others sick that way. Just don't share eating utensils, food, or drinks, and be careful if you cough or sneeze. I'm writing you a doctor's note for a month. After that, you can go back to work if you feel up to it, but if not I can write another note to extend your sick leave. When you do go back it will be on restricted duty because of your spleen."

"How long will this last?"

"Symptoms last one to four weeks and you are probably in week two, but it can take you to two months, sometimes longer, to feel up to resuming your normal activities; but you will most likely be too exhausted to function for a couple of weeks at least."

Jay groans hearing this.

"Drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest and take Tylenol and Motrin for the fever. If you feel a sharp pain in your left side get to Med immediately, it could be your spleen."

"Can I take him home now?" Will asks.

"Yeah, I'll get his discharge papers. Feel better Jay," Natalie tells the brothers.

* * *

"Hey, thanks for getting these," Will thanks Hailey as she hands him the bags.

"How's he doing? Is it mono?"

"Yes it is and he's sleeping. He's going to be exhausted for a while. I managed to get some Motrin into him, but I think the pills hurt his throat."

"Okay, if you guys need anything let me know. Even if you need me to stay with him while you have a shift," Hailey tells him while walking out the door. "Oh, before I forget, I got some liquid Tylenol for him. Figured it would be easier on his throat. I couldn't find anything else though, looks like that what the only type that makes a liquid version for adults."

"Hailey, wait a second," Will tells her before she can leave.

"What's up?"

"Natalie wrote him a doctor's note for a month, I was going to stop by the district to give it to Voight, but if you could take it tomorrow, that would be great."

"Yeah, no problem."

"Jay owes you," Hailey hears behind her as she walks out of Jay's apartment.

* * *

"Hailey? Anything on Halstead?" Voight asks her when she gets in the next day.

"He's going to be out for a while, mono. Will gave me a doctor's note for Jay that he got when he took him to Med," Hailey tells their boss while handing him the note.

With the team short a detective, they were forced to work on their backlogged paperwork.

"Hailey, any idea when Jay's back?" Adam asks.

"No, but Will made it sound like it would be at least a month."

* * *

"Hey, how's he doing?" Hailey asks when she stops by at the end of the day.

"He's okay. He made it to the couch today," Will looks back to the couch before inviting her in.

Hailey walks over to the couch and places the back of her hand on his cheek to feel his temperature, "He still so warm," she comments.

"It should go away in a few days," Will tells her.

"Hailey?" Jay stirs, knowing it isn't his brother's hand on his face.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asks.

"Tired," Jay answers while trying to sit up.

"No, don't move," Hailey tries to stop him.

"I've been laying all day," Jay insists.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Hailey asks. Jay shakes his head.

"Come on, Bud. You need to eat," Will tells him.

"Did Will tell you I brought over some Jell-O last night? Do you think you can eat that?" Hailey tries. Jay nods and both Hailey and Will take that as a win.

Will goes into the kitchen to grab the Jell-O cup and a spoon for Jay. Jay slowly eats the Jell-O until it is just crumbs left.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Hailey suggests when she sees Jay fighting sleep.

"I've been sleeping most of the day," Jay complains.

"You needed the rest," Hailey tells him.

"Thanks for stopping by," Jay tells her.

"No problem, text me if you need anything. Both of you," she tells the brothers before leaving the apartment.

* * *

The next night Hailey gets a text asking if she can sit with Jay. She agrees instantly, knowing it is probably killing Will to leave Jay.

"How is he?" she asks when getting to Jay's apartment.

"Okay considering. He's probably going to sleep most of the night, but in case he needs anything, I'd feel better if someone was with him," Will admits.

"No problem. I've got it," Hailey reminds him while looking at Jay who is once again laying on the couch.

"Call if you need anything," Will tells her.

"We'll be fine. Go to work." Hailey practically has to push the older brother out of the door.

"Will?" Jay calls for softly.

"Will just left for work," Hailey tells him. "What do you need?" she asks while feeling his forehead again.

"Never mind," Jay mumbles not wanting to bother her. "You should go home, I'll be fine."

"Somehow I don't think that's the case. And Will would kill me if I left you alone. Now, what do you need?" Hailey asks again.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" She tries again when he doesn't answer. "You feel a little cooler." When Jay still doesn't answer Hailey gives up on getting an answer from him and goes into his kitchen to grab something for him to drink. Rooting around in his refrigerator finding a bottle of Pedialyte that Will brought over the first day he was sick. Pouring some into a cup, she brings it out to Jay.

"Thanks," he whispers as he takes small sips, trying not to hurt his throat.

"All you have to do is ask. You are not bothering me," Hailey reminds him.

After Jay drinks the offered liquid, Hailey makes him lay back on the couch. He lays his head in her lap while she runs her fingers through his hair, knocking him out in less than a minute. Hailey turns on his TV and puts on highlights of the game making sure the sound isn't loud enough to wake him up.

When Will gets back at six in the morning, he finds the two in the same position. He takes a picture on his phone before waking the two of them, sending Jay to his room, and making sure that Hailey is on her way home before she has to go into work.

* * *

Six weeks later Jay has enough energy to return to work. Jay is happy to be back even if he is on modified duty because of his spleen.

"Halstead, ready to stop being a lazy ass!?" Ruzek yells when he sees Jay at his desk in the bullpen when he walks up the stairs.

"Dude I wasn't being lazy, I was sick," Jay tells him annoyed.

"For almost two months? Okay, sure," Adam nodded.

"Adam, leave him alone," Hailey orders. "Are you caught up?" Hailey asks turning her attention to Jay.

"Yeah, trafficking," Jay answers.

"Everything okay?" Hailey asks surprised by his short answer.

"Fine. Just…" Jay tilts his head in the direction of Ruzek.

"Don't listen to him."

Jay seemed to settle down after Adam left him alone. With Jay on modified duty, he was stuck writing up search warrants and keeping an eye on their suspect's online activity.

By the end of the day, Jay managed to go stir crazy. Packing their things, the Intelligence Unit minus Jay and Hailey decide to meet at Molly's. Instead, the two go back to his apartment.

"How was your first day back?" Hailey asks.

"I went stir crazy after six minutes," Jay deadpans.

"When can you go back into the field?" Hailey asks.

"I go back to Med in two weeks for another CT scan," Jay yawns.

"I think that is my cue to leave," Hailey notes.

"You don't have to," Jay tells her fighting another yawn.

"I'm going. You- get some rest. You still aren't one hundred percent," Hailey tells him, not giving Jay a chance to respond before she gets up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When Jay is finally cleared for full duty, he is at the end of his nerves with Ruzek. Even though cleared for full duty, Jay is still easily tired, sometimes sneaking into the locker room for short naps since being out in the field is zapping a lot of his energy. It takes another two months after being back to full duty that Jay is back to his normal self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 104.6= 40.3


	14. N is for Needle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where did Jay's fear of needles come form?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 6  
> Completed: May 31, 2020

"I've got him," Jay Halstead tells the rest of the unit through his earpiece.

Jay hears the responses of his team but doesn't pay attention to the actual words as he is busy following their suspect through the house. Jay follows the suspect through the hall of the second floor, being careful not to lose him in one of the many rooms.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jay catches a shadow going into the last room on the left. He follows, being sure to clear the room as he goes.

"Chicago PD! Stop!" Jay orders.

The suspect turns around and smirks before disappearing out of the window.

"He went out the window," Jay informs the rest of the team. "I'm following him." Jay does as he said, ignoring Hailey telling him not to.

Jay lands on a roof as he goes out the window. Running across the roof, Jay almost catches the man until he jumps to the ground and takes off again.

Without thinking, Jay leaps himself, rolling to land. He hops up, taking off after their suspect once again. Jay feels a sharp pang in his right ankle as he puts pressure on it, but ignores the feeling as he chases the suspect.

Jay chases the suspect for another three blocks before he sees Adam arriving in one of their cars. Jay then tackles the suspect onto the hood of the car.

"Are you okay?" Adam asks as he helps Jay get their suspect into the back of his car.

"Fine," Jay grunts.

"You know your arm is bleeding, right?"

Jay looks down at his arm and is surprised to see blood dripping down his left arm.

By now the rest of the team has arrived at their location.

"Jay, are you okay?" Hailey asks.

"Fine," Jay answers, annoyed. He goes to take a step, but freezes when pain shoots up his leg from his ankle, though not shown on his face, Hailey can see the pain in his eyes.

"Yeah, sure," she answers sarcastically.

"Kim, call an ambo," Voight orders.

"I'm fine," Jay argues.

"You're getting checked out," Voight tells him, not leaving room for an argument.

Hailey goes to his side and wraps an arm around him to help him over to a curb where they sit down.

Five minutes later Ambulance 61 shows up with Brett and Foster. "What happened?" Brett asks.

"He jumped out of a window after a suspect," Hailey answers.

"There was a roof," Jay tries to defend.

"Okay," Brett senses that there is a tension in the air. "How does this feel?" She asks as she takes his ankle and moves it around.

"Fine," he grunts.

"I'm pretty sure that it's just twisted, but you should still get it checked out. And that cut's going to need stitches," Brett tells him as she puts gauze on it to keep it clean until he can get the stitches."

"No ambulance," Jay tells her.

The two paramedics look to each other, "Hailey can you drive him?" she asks the blonde detective.

"Yeah, come on Jay," she tells he injured partner.

"Wait, here's an ice pack for his ankle. Jay, keep it elevated."

"Thanks," Hailey says on behalf of her partner.

The ride to Med is silent and Hailey can tell that Jay is in more pain now that the adrenalin has worn off.

* * *

Hailey thought it was going to be a normal day- that is never the case with the intelligence unit, especially when her partner is Jay Halstead.

"You know, I would think that you would know by now that jumping out of windows to get the suspect never leads to anything good," Hailey tells Jay as they are sitting in the waiting room of the ED at Med; referring to how he followed their suspect out of a second-story window without thinking, only a partial roof shorting the drop.

"I got him, everything's fine," Jay argues.

"And we're not sitting in the waiting room of the ED," Hailey answers sarcastically, glaring at her partner who is sitting in the chair next to her, ice pack that is resting on his elevated ankle. "You're lucky if your ankle is only twisted. And Brett said that the cut you got most likely needs stitches," Hailey tells him angrily, momentarily forgetting about his fear of needles until his face pales at the word.

Realizing what she said, Hailey stops, "I'm sorry," she apologizes, rubbing his uninjured arm.

"It's okay," he whispers.

Before Hailey can respond, the intake nurse, Leah calls his name. Jay attempts to get up, but cannot put pressure on his ankle. Hailey sees this and wraps her arm around his waist so he can use her as a crutch, knowing he will refuse a wheelchair.

* * *

No sooner does Hailey get Jay settled in the treatment room does Will rush into the room wanting to know what happened.

"He decided to play superman and followed our suspect out of the second-floor window," Hailey answers.

"There was a roof," Jay tells his brother.

"Jay," Will addresses his brother, "You're not superman, so quit being a daredevil. You give me a heart attack every time you end up here."

"Since you're here, can you-" Jay starts to ask.

"No, it's against hospital policy to work on family."

"Will…"

"I'll get Natalie to look at you," Will offers.

Jay nods his head, looking down. "Thanks, Will," Hailey answers for the younger Halstead.

* * *

Will goes over to Natalie, "Can you check on Jay? He chased a suspect out of a second-floor window, messed up his ankle, needs stitches and a tetanus."

"Yeah, I'll check on him once I discharge my patient in four."

"Thanks."

Student Dr. Elsa Curry overhears this conversation and figures to get a head start since she is Dr. Manning's resident for the day.

"Hello detectives," the student doctor greets when she enters the room. "I'm student doctor Curry and I'll be examining you today."

Jay and Hailey look to each other, "Will said Natalie would be in to check on Jay," Hailey tells the young blonde.

"I'm Dr. Manning's resident for today. I'm just going to start the process now, then it will be less that she needs to do."

"Do you want me to find Will?" Hailey asks Jay.

"No," Jay lies nervously, not wanting to need his brother to come to his recuse because of a needle.

Hailey can tell that Jay isn't telling her the truth, but decides not to call him out on it and instead moves next to him for moral support.

Curry puts on a pair of gloves and starts to examine the cut on his upper arm. "This is definitely going to need stitches," she comments as she preps the needles. "I'll give you a numbing agent before I start," she tells Jay while prepping the needle in front of him.

Just as she is about to inject the needle into his arm to numb the area, Jay makes the mistake of looking at the needle. Jay's eyes get wide and his breathing increases, his eyes then roll to the back of his head and his body goes backwards as he passes out.

Hailey, not realizing what was happening until he was already down, was grateful that he went backwards, landing on the bed, and not forwards where he would have faceplanted on to the floor.

"Jay?" Hailey questions. She then goes to try to wake him, before she is stopped.

"I can stitch him up while he's out. His vitals look good, so I'm not too concerned."

"Okay," Hailey hesitates, knowing it would be best for Jay mentally if he wasn't aware of the needle going through his skin, but at the same time knowing that he wouldn't like something being done to him while he is unconscious. Hailey grabs his uninjured arm, hoping he can sense her presence.

Elsa stitches up the cut on the detective's arm before swabbing a disinfectant on the injury site and taping a gauze patch to the area.

She then uses smelling-salts to wake up the detective from his unintentional slumber.

"Wha' happen'd?" Jay questions, dazed, as he comes to.

"Hey, you fainted? How are you feeling?" Hailey asks her partner.

"I feel ready to leave," Jay tries.

"Soon. I promise," Hailey answers.

While the two detectives are talking amongst themselves, Elsa prepares the Tdap shot.

"Okay, Detective," Elsa addresses Jay. "Once you get your tetanus booster, we'll wrap up your ankle and send you on your way."

Jay is happy at the announcement that he will be able to leave soon.

"Detective," the student doctor directs at Hailey. "Can you keep him distracted so we don't have a repeat of a few minutes ago?"

Hailey agrees and starts talking to Jay about something Vanessa did the other night while they were out. She stands on Jay's other side. With her hand on the back of his head, keeping him from looking at the needle about to go into his skin.

Jay flinches as the needle goes into his arm but otherwise does fine. Elsa disposes of the needle before grabbing what she needs to wrap his ankle.

Jay's ankle is wrapped in less than five minutes. "I'm going to start on your discharge paperwork, I'll be back in a bit," she announces.

* * *

"See, that wasn't so bad," Hailey comments.

Jay nods, out of it. Hailey notices, "Is something wrong?"

"I feel weird. And I don't know if it's from when I passed out earlier or if something is wrong?"

"What is it?"

"It's hard to catch my breath and I'm lightheaded, dizzy," Jay tells her.

"Okay, relax," Hailey tells him as she pushes Jay back against the bed before sticking her head out of the treatment room to call for help.

"Maggie," she calls to the charge nurse, the first person she spots. "Can someone check on Jay? Something isn't right," Hailey tells her when she has the attention of the nurse.

Hearing this Maggie walks into Jay's treatment room. "What seems to be the problem?"

"He's having some trouble breathing and is lightheaded," Hailey informs the nurse. "He passed out when he saw the needle, but isn't sure if it's from that or if something is wrong."

"Okay," Maggie acknowledges before turning her attention to Jay. "Your oxygen does look a bit low. It says in your file that you're allergic to the pertussis inoculation."

Jay nods, confirming this.

"Okay. Who checked you out? It says you got the Tdap injection and not the Td injection."

"It was a student doctor," Hailey answers. "Elsa Curry?"

"Okay, I'm going to find a doctor to get you on Benadryl. I'm pretty sure you're having an allergic reaction," Maggie tells them as she walks out of the room after placing an oxygen cannula under his nose.

Maggie steps back in a minute later followed by Natalie and Will.

"Jay, what happened?" Will asks concerned.

"We think Jay got a shot he was allergic to," Hailey answers.

Will nods, moving to take a look at his brother. Seeing something strange peeking out from under the gauze patch, Will removes it to see hives forming on Jay's arm.

"Did she touch you with latex?" Will asks his brother.

"I don't know."

"He'll be fine Will," Natalie reassures. "Jay, I'm going to get you started on Benadryl," she tells him while placing a needle into his arm.

"When can I leave?"

"You need to stay for a bit longer. Just until the reaction is over."

* * *

"Elsa," Natalie calls over when she leaves Jay's room.

"Yes, Dr. Manning?"

"Why did you treat Dr. Halstead's brother?"

"You were busy, I'm your resident. It's not the first time I've given stitches or an injection," she defends.

"You gave him an injection that he's allergic to," Natalie informs her. "Did you not read his chart?"

"I read that he doesn't get the pertussis inoculation. Whooping cough is dangerous, he is putting other people in danger."

"You put a patient in danger, the brother of a doctor here in danger. Ms. Goodwin will be hearing about your actions."

* * *

"How're you feeling?" Hailey asks.

"Benadryl is helping," Jay tells her sleepily.

"Go to sleep. Someone will be here when you wake up," Hailey tells him.

"Are you staying?"

"I'm going to let Voight know what's going on. I'll be back soon," Hailey promises before leaving the treatment room.

Walking outside where she can use her phone.

"Voight," she hears through the mobile device.

"Sarge," Hailey says.

"Upton. How's Halstead?"

"They're keeping him for observation. A student doctor gave him a tetanus shot he's allergic to so they're watching for a reaction to it."

"Make sure he doesn't try to escape," Voight tells her before hanging up.

* * *

Hailey walks back into Jay's room just as they are moving him.

"Just in time," Will comments.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"He had another reaction, so Nat's going to admit him for the night. Hopefully, he can leave tomorrow morning or afternoon. Do you mind staying with him until I finish my shift?"

"Sure, no problem." Hailey follows Jay to his new room.

With Jay still sleeping, Hailey decides to pass time by playing on her phone.

She is brought out of her train of thought when she hears a whimpering coming from the bed. Putting the phone down, she gets closer to the bed. "Jay? Jay, it's okay. You're okay. You're at Med."

"Hailey? What happened?"

"Will said you had a reaction. Natalie is keeping you overnight for observation."

"I don't feel good."

"I know," Hailey gently responds knowing how Jay gets when he has an allergic reaction. "Need me to do anything?"

"No," Jay answers while scratching at his arm.

"Hey, stop that," Hailey gently chides Jay. "You'll rip a stitch out."

"It really itches though," Jay complains. Hailey looks at his arm to see hives in the area that would have been touched by the latex glove, despite the Benadryl.

"I know. I'm going to see if I can get you an ice pack," Hailey tells him before she exits his room.

"Hey, how's Jay doing?" Natalie asks as she runs into Hailey on her way to check on Jay.

"Okay, considering. He has a bunch of hives where she touched him with the latex gloves. Is there any way I can get an ice pack for him?"

"Sure, I'll get it myself," Natalie offers.

"Thanks," Hailey thanks before going back to Jay's room.

"No ice?" Jay questions when he sees Hailey walk back in empty-handed.

"I ran into Natalie, she said she would get it for you," Hailey tells him as she pulls his hand away from the hives. "What did I tell you?" she questions giving him a look.

"I can't help it," Jay answers.

Before Hailey can respond to him, Natalie walks in with an ice pack wrapped in a towel.

"Here, this should help in a couple of minutes," she tells him as she places it on his arm.

"Thanks," he mumbles.

"I'm sorry about Elsa," Natalie apologizes.

"Wasn't your fault," Jay whispers.

"So, after talking with Ms. Goodwin, Elsa is on probation."

"I didn't want to cause trouble," Jay states.

"Hey, this wasn't your fault," Natalie tells him. "It's in your file that you can't have the pertussis vaccine, and she gave it to you anyway."

"Did you find out why she gave it to him?" Hailey questions.

"The point was that she claimed that Jay was putting people in danger by not getting it, so she took matters into her own hands," Natalie answered.

"But that hurt Jay," Hailey exclaims.

"I know, trust me," Natalie looks down to her pager. "I need to go; multiple MVA victims coming in. You should try to rest some, Will's probably going to be a while," Natalie tells Jay who is fighting sleep before she leaves the room.

"You should go," Jay tells Hailey. "I'll be fine."

"I'm staying. You can't get rid of me that easily," she jokes as Jay falls into a light sleep.

Hailey goes back to her phone while also watching to make sure that Jay doesn't have any more reactions to the pertussis vaccine.

* * *

Walking into his brother's room at three in the morning, he finds both detectives sleeping. Jay is on his side facing Hailey, and Hailey is bent over the bed, her head on top of her crossed arms.

Will takes a look at Jay's vitals and chart, happy with how he is doing, before taking a blanket and throwing it over the blond detective. He then takes the spot in the chair on the other side of his brother's bed.

* * *

After what seems like forever, Jay is allowed to go home with strict instructions to take it easy and to stay on Benadryl for another two days. The two detectives arrive to his apartment just after two in the afternoon, with Jay balancing on crutches.

"Thanks for the ride," Jay tells Hailey as they step inside of his place.

"No problem. So, what's the big deal with needles?" Hailey asks, knowing of his fear, but not the reason behind it.

Jay sighs, "When I was serving in my first tour… I was captured as a prisoner of war along with four other soldiers. They would torture us by using hot needles," Jay pauses.

Hailey grabs his arm, "You don't need to tell me," she tells him, knowing that it's hard for him to talk about his military days.

"No. It's okay." Jay takes a deep breath before starting again. "They would take the needles and slowly pierce them through our stomachs. Sometime there would be as many as fifty in us at once."

Hailey can tell that he is getting uncomfortable and rubs his back.

Jay is silent for a moment.

"Jay? Are you still with me?" she asks.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Thank you for being willing to tell me, but I don't want you to if you're not ready," Hailey tells him.

Jay looks at her, the look in his eyes thanking her for her words.


	15. O is for Oxygen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A childhood medical issue reemerges at the worst possible time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 6  
> Completed: May 31, 2020

Working on their current case, the intelligence unit gets a lead on where their suspect is keeping the kidnapped girls: an abandoned house that has been foreclosed.

The team suits up before heading to where their vehicles are parked, walking out to of the district into the cold, dry air sends Jay into a coughing fit. Causing Hailey to look over, "You good?"

"Yeah, just caught off guard," Jay explains when he regains control.

"Yeah, sure. I'm driving," Hailey announces while taking his truck keys out of his hand.

"Hailey, I'm-" Jay breaks off coughing again.

"Yeah, you're fine," Hailey sarcastically agrees while getting into the driver's seat of his truck before pulling out of the parking lot.

"Everyone, keep your eyes open," they hear Voight over the comm., "Jamison is armed and dangerous in hand-to-hand."

Everyone gives some type of affirmation that they understand. Arriving at their destination they grab the long guns out of the cars. Hailey and Jay, and Kevin and Vanessa take the back while Kim and Adam take the front with Voight. Entering the building they find it as cold as it is outside in the freezing Chicago winter.

After clearing each room, the team sees that while the building is now empty, there is evidence that the girls were once being held there. "Sarge, check this out. It's still warm," Kevin motions to a nest of blankets on the floor. "They can't have left too long ago."

"Okay, everyone get back to the district and try to pull some leads," Voight orders the team.

Stepping into the cold air triggers another coughing fit for Jay. Seeing that Jay is having trouble catching his breath, Hailey hits his back, not knowing how else she can help. "Are you sure you're okay?" Hailey asks concerned.

"Yeah, fine," Jay tells her, undoing his vest, chest feeling constricted.

"Do you need to go to Med?" Hailey asks, " _Need_ , not want," she emphasizes.

"No, it's just a cough."

"Okay, but tell me if something changes." Jay just nods while getting into the passenger side of the car without being asked, only making Hailey more concerned.

* * *

Back at the district, the intelligence unit is diligently going through all the information that they have on Jamison. Hailey keeping an eye on Jay's every move, not believing that he is fine like he said he was.

Noting that it is about the twentieth time that he has cleared his throat, Hailey is about to ask again if he is okay, knowing she is going to get the standard Jay Halstead answer when she is interrupted by Voight, "Jamison was just spotted on Englewood. Halstead and Upton bring him in, Atwater and Ruzek, back them up."

Jay immediately springs up, to bring him in. Hailey follows with a bad gut feeling.

Rolling up to where Jamison was last seen, Hailey parks waiting for him to come out of the store that he went into. When he comes out, Jay steps out of the car yelling, "Chicago PD."

Hearing Jay, Jamison makes a break for it with Jay on his tail. Kevin and Adam take their car to try to cut him off.

While running through the ally, Jay can feel his chest tightening, but he doesn't stop running; wanting to catch their suspect to find out where he is keeping the missing girls.

After chasing him for about five blocks, black spots start to dance in his vision and he can feel himself wheezing. Not able to get enough air into his lungs, Jay collapses to the ground. Being right behind him, Hailey sees her partner fall in what feels like slow-motion. "Adam," she calls into her radio, "Jay collapsed, the suspect is heading to Seventh Street. Cut him off."

"We got it," Kevin answers for them, "Stay with Jay."

Hailey kneels down next to her partner, "Jay, answer me."

Jay makes no indication that he heard her, the only sound coming from his are painful wheezes. Quickly checking him over, she cannot find a physical reason to why he collapsed, "Dispatch, this is 5021 Henry. I need an ambulance to my location now. I have an officer down, unknown cause- possible respiratory distress," she says as she's trying to get Jay to sit up, hoping that it will help him get air in.

"5021 Henry: ambulance is ten minutes out."

"I don't have ten minutes; he's having trouble breathing."

"Copy."

"C'mon Jay. I need you to breathe, help's coming," she begs him.

Six minutes later Ambulance 61 pulls up. Sylvie Brett and Emily Foster step out of the rig going over to the two. "What happened?" Foster asks as Brett gets vitals on him.

"I don't know. He just collapsed."

"O2 is 85%; let's get him on a mask, put him on 100%." Emily tries to place the mask on Jay, but in his oxygen-deprived state, he is pulling at it.

"Jay," Hailey sternly barks, seeing the panic in his eyes. "Leave it alone. It's going to help you."

"O2's not improving. Let's get him in the rig before he goes into shock." The three girls manage to get him onto the stretcher before loading it into the back of the ambulance.

Foster takes the driver's seat to drive to Med, while Brett gets in the back to treat him. Hailey also climbs into the back, not wanting to leave her partner. "C'mon, Jay. Deep breaths," she tells him while rubbing his back feeling helpless.

With his oxygen levels barely improving, Brett knows she needs to try something else fast or she's going to have to intubate him. "Jay, I'm going to switch your mask with a nebulizer one, okay?" Brett tells the detective as she is putting the medicine into the mask. Switching the mask, she tells him, "Just breath in the mist."

Jay is focused on his breathing, which seems to be improving some. "His oxygen is improving," Brett tells Hailey, "Up to 88%."

"What is that?" Hailey asks, indicating to the mask.

"It's a nebulizer treatment. It's used on patients with asthma. Do you know if Jay's asthmatic?"

"I don't know. He's never mentioned anything to me, but you know how he is."

* * *

Arriving at Med, Will is waiting when they unload Jay from the ambulance. "Hailey, what happened?" asked the concerned brother.

"I don't know. We were chasing a suspect and he just fell. He was wheezing like he couldn't get in any air."

Will then goes into the treatment room that they took Jay to. "Will, you can't be here," Ethan tells him.

"I'm not treating him," Will answers while going to his brother's head, "I'll stay out of the way," he promises Ethan before turning his attention to his brother.

"Hey, Bud. Are you feeling better?" Jay nods his head. "Was your asthma bothering you at all before this?" Jay shrugs his shoulders.

"He was coughing a lot today," Hailey informs the older brother, "But I thought it was just a cough. He's getting over a cold from last week."

"Did you think you were just coughing because of your cold?" Jay nods his head again.

"Jay," Ethan calls his attention, "How hard is it to breath on a scale of one to ten?" Jay holds up four fingers.

"That's at least a seven, maybe an eight," Will informs his colleague before turning to his brother. "How does your chest feel? Tight?" Jay gives the _so-so_ motion, pointing to the nebulizer mask. "It was tight, but the nebulizer treatment helped?" Will guessed. Jay nods his head. "Is your chest still tight?" Jay motions _a little_ with his hand.

"Jay, because this was a severe attack and your oxygen levels are still a bit too low for me, I'm going to admit you," Ethan tells him.

"No arguments, Jay," Will tells his brother when he sees that he is about to complain. With the nebulizer treatment finished, Will switches the mask to a normal oxygen mask. Jay just closes his eyes, exhausted from the attack.

Hailey places a hand on Jay's forearm, "Jay, I'm going to call Voight and let him know what's going on. I'll be back in a bit okay?" Jay nods, opening his eyes for a second to ask, just by looking at her, _you're coming back_.

"I'm not leaving," Hailey promises before she walks out of the treatment room. "Will, if they move him before I get back can you text me his room number."

"Yeah, and Hailey?" he stops her before she leaves, "He's had enough excitement for the day. Let's keep the visitors to a minimum today. He can have more tomorrow if he feels up to it."

"Okay, I'll let them know.

* * *

"How's Halstead?" Voight answers when he sees it's his detective calling him.

"He's doing better. They're going to admit him."

"Did you find out what happened?"

"He had an asthma attack."

"Is this new or was he hiding it from us?"

"It's not new, but I don't think he was necessarily hiding it from us. Will's making it sound like they thought he outgrew it."

"Is he up for visitors?"

"Actually, Will wants to limit visitors today. He said if Jay is up to it tomorrow, he can have more visitors."

"Okay. Is it safe for me to assume you're staying with him?"

"Yes, as long as you don't need me at the district."

"We can manage."

* * *

Walking back into the hospital, Hailey finds that Will had texted her while she was on the phone with Voight, _ICU 508_.

"Hey," she knocks softly on the door.

"Hey, come in. He just fell asleep," Will tells her as she walks up to the bed.

"He looks better," she comments, taking a good look at her partner. He has regained most of his color, though still a little pale; the oxygen mask covering half of his face, he looks to be sleeping peacefully.

"His numbers are improving, they're in the mid-nineties."

"So, Jay has asthma?"

"Yeah, but he hasn't had an attack in years. I think the last time he had one, he was a freshman."

"If he hasn't had one in so long, what caused him to have one today?"

"There are a lot of triggers, but in his case, I'm going to guess that it was the cold air, the air's also been dry. And you said he's getting over a cold?" Will continues when Hailey nods, "An upper respiratory infection, like the flu, or in Jay's case, a cold can cause asthma to act up."

"But, he's going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine. Once he's out of here, he'll probably be on restricted duty for a couple of days; but he'll be back to chasing bad guys in the street in no time."

"He's going to love restricted duty."

"He'll live with it; I need to get back to the ED. Are you staying?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, have a nurse page me if he needs anything and a nurse should be coming by before they bring him dinner for another treatment."

"He'll be fine. I've got him." Hailey tells him.

Hailey sits in the chair by his bed for about two and a half hours before Jay stirs, "Hailey?" his voice is muffled by the mask.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" she asks.

"Better, tired," Jay tries to take off the mask only to be stopped by Hailey.

"Don't, you need that."

"What happened?"

"You had an asthma attack while chasing the suspect."

"Did we get him? What about the girls?" Leave it to Jay to be more worried about the case that his own health

"We got him and last I heard the girls were going to be okay. How come you never mentioned having asthma?"

"Didn't think it was important. Haven't had an attack in years," Jay coughs harshly. Seeing him struggle to catch his breath, Hailey moves the rail out of the way and helps him into a sitting position, sitting next to him for support.

"That's it. Nice, deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth," Hailey coaches while rubbing his back. Seeing that he's caught his breath, she asks, "How do you feel? Do you need me to get a nurse?"

Jay shakes his head as he rests it on Hailey's shoulder. "Jay, I think I should get a nurse. You feel warm."

"No," is his muffled response through the mask.

"Jay, please. What if you're getting pneumonia?" Jay nods not wanting Hailey to worry. Hailey presses the call button.

"Yes," a voice comes over the speaker.

"I think he's running a fever, can someone come and check?" Hailey request.

"Someone will be right in."

They wait for five minutes before a nurse walks in, Jay still resting his head on Hailey. "Hi, I hear you're not feeling too hot. Is it okay if I take your temperature?" Jay just nods his head. The nurse wipes off the thermometer before placing on Jay's forehead. "Your friend was right, 100.7.," the nurse tells him. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

"Head," Jay whispers.

"Anything else?"

"Throat."

"Does your throat just hurt or does it feel like you can't get any air?"

"Just hurts," Jay answers sounding out of breath.

"Jay, is this new, or were they bothering you before?" Hailey asks.

"New."

Hailey looks over to the nurse worried, "It's normal," she assures her. "It says in his notes that he already had a cold before he had the attack?" She clarifies.

"Yeah."

"His immune system is weaker than normal from the attack," she tells Hailey before turning her attention to Jay, "In the meantime, I'm going to get you some Tylenol and see if we can move up the breathing treatment," she tells him before leaving the room.

"Do you want to lay down?"

Jay moves the mask away from his face a couple of inches so Hailey can understand him, "No, if they do a treatment I have to be sitting up."

"Okay, now put the mask back." Jay does as he's told, still in need of the oxygen that it is providing.

Jay nods off, leaning against Hailey while they wait for the nurse to return. After a few moments the nurse returns, Hailey wakes Jay up so he can take the medicine. "Here," the nurse hands Jay a cup with two pills, "The doctor also approved another breathing treatment," she tells him as she hands him a mouthpiece.

Jay grabs it, "Can I have the mask instead?" He questions.

"No," the nurse tells him. "You should have transitioned to the mouthpiece by the time you were twelve."

"Can you page his brother, Will Halstead?" Hailey asks.

"His brother is not in charge of his case."

"Page his brother, unless you want an angry older brother on your case," Hailey warns the nurse.

"Fine," the nurse answers before leaving the room.

Will enters the room ten minutes after the standoff with the nurse. "What's wrong?" Will worriedly ask as he enters the room.

Seeing that Jay fell back asleep on her, Hailey answers, "The nurse gave him the mouthpiece for the breathing treatment and he asked if he could have the mask instead. She told him _no_ and that he should have transitioned from the mask by the time he was twelve."

"Okay, I'll get to the bottom of it," Will tells her before going to find the nurse who was responsible for his brother's breathing treatment.

Will returns five minutes later turning his attention to his sleeping brother. "Jay, hey, wake up," Will attempts to wake him up without startling him not wanting to trigger an asthma attack.

"Will?"

"Hey, I talked to the nurse. She'll be in soon with the mask, okay?"

Jay nods, "I'm sorry," Jay apologizes.

"For what?"

"For causing trouble."

"You didn't cause trouble. Not everyone can get the hang of the mouthpiece," Will reassures him. "Do you need anything else?"

"No. Thanks, Will."

"No problem, I'll stop by after my shift ends in a couple of hours."

"Okay, Will. We'll be fine until then," Hailey answers seeing her partner is spacing out again.

"Okay, I'll send the nurse in," Will tells them as he leaves.

The nurse arrives a few minutes later with the nebulizer treatment and the mask, "Here," the nurse hands him the mask, "The treatment should last ten to fifteen minutes," she tells him before leaving.

"Her attitude changed," Hailey comments as she helped Jay switch masks.

For the next ten minutes, the two sit in a comfortable silence as Jay breathes in the medication.

"Does that feel better?" Hailey asks Jay when the nebulizer treatment is over.

"Yeah. Did Will say why?" Jay asks through the mask.

"Why what? Why you had an attack?" Hailey guesses. Jay nods, letting her know that is what he is asking. "He said it could have been the cold air and that the air has been dry recently. He also mentioned that your cold probably hasn't helped. Jay, tell me the truth, it's just the two of us: did you feel your asthma bothering you?"

"No. I really thought it was just the cold."

"Okay, you really scared me," she admits.

"Sorry," he yawns.

"Go to sleep. Someone will be here when you wake up," Hailey tells him. Hearing this, Jay lays back in the bed and turns on his side, so he is facing Hailey being careful of the oxygen mask providing the extra oxygen to him. She lays next to him, arm pulling him into her side, Jay resting his head on her shoulder quickly falling to sleep.

* * *

"He really trusts you," Will whispers as he walks into his brother's hospital room, finding the two in the same position.

"Or he's just exhausted," Hailey rebuttals.

"He's faced into you like that because he knows you'll protect him while he's sleeping," Will explains. "He used to do that to me when we were growing up and he'd climb into my bed when he got scared," Will elaborates when he sees her confused expression.

"I have his back," Hailey simply states.

"He doesn't trust a lot of people when he's sleeping. He needs to feel safe with them to let his guard down like this."

"He's been out for a couple of hours; I can wake him if you want."

"No. Leave him be, at least until they bring his dinner around." After a moment of awkward silence, Will tells her, "His numbers look good. We can switch him to a nasal cannula when he wakes up."

* * *

After another day in the ICU, Jay is moved to a regular room where the rest of intelligence is allowed to visit him. It takes five more days for Jay to be released from the hospital, mostly because they wanted to watch for complications with his asthma because of his cold. By his second day in a regular room, he was driving the nurses up the wall, Will threatening to knock him out if he didn't stop behaving like a child.

When Jay was finally allowed home, he was on medical leave for another week before he was allowed to return to work. Driving everyone crazy when he returned to intelligence since he was still on restricted duty, most of the team was ready to murder him themselves. After being cleared for full duty, the team, especially Hailey, was keeping an eye on him, not wanting Jay to have another attack on their watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 100.7= 38.2


	16. P is for Pertussis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was just a cough, or was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Late season 6  
> Completed: Jan. 2, 2020

"Jay, are you okay?" Hailey asks as her partner struggles to catch his breath through a coughing fit.

"Yeah, fine," he answers her, still coughing. When the fit finally ends, Jay rests his head in his hands.

Seeing her partner look defeated, Hailey forgets about the football game that they were watching. "Hey, how are you feeling? Really?" she asks while rubbing his back

"Okay," he tells Hailey, looking up to her. "Really, I think I'm just getting a cold," he explains when he sees that she is giving him a look.

"You feel a little warm," Hailey informed him, as she placed the back of her hand to his cheek.

"It's probably because I was coughing so much," Jay weakly defends.

"Mmm-hmm, I still want to check," Hailey tells him as she gets up to grab the thermometer. Hailey returns a moment later with a thermometer and two different bottles, "Here," she hands him the device expectantly. Jay takes it and sticks it under his tongue, closing his mouth.

Hailey watches him closely, not trusting Jay to not mess with the reading. When the device beeps, Hailey takes it before Jay has a chance to look, "101.3, here," Hailey hands him two pills from the first bottle and then measures out the dosage of the liquid medicine. "The pills are Tylenol for the fever and this is for the cough. It's grape and it doesn't taste that bad," she tells Jay at his questioning look.

"Thanks," he coughs taking the medication.

"Do you need me to drive you home?" Hailey asks looking at the time.

"No, are you trying to get rid of me?" he jokes.

"No, but it's getting late and you should probably go to bed."

"Yeah, good idea," Jay concedes. "I'll see you tomorrow," he says as Hailey walks him out.

"Feel better and text me when you get home," Hailey tells him.

"I will," he promises.

* * *

After what feels like forever, Jay gets home and crashes as soon as he is in his bed. Jay wakes up a half-hour later to the sound of his phone going off. "Hel-" he breaks off into another coughing fit. Stuck in this fit, Jay forces himself to sit up; he feels the mucus coming up his throat, not having anything to spit it into, he spits into his hand. Feeling like he has gained control, he tries answering again, "Hello?"

"Jay? Are you okay?" Hailey asks over the phone, worried when she hears her partner struggling over the phone.

"Yeah, fine," he answers, brain cloudy from waking up before realizing why she called, "Shit! I didn't text you, I'm sorry. I fell asleep as soon as I got home," Jay tells her in a panic.

Hailey can tell that Jay is working himself up so she intervenes before he gets caught in another fit, "Jay, listen to my voice," she tells him calmly. "It's okay, I didn't mean to wake you. I just wanted to make sure you got home okay."

"Okay," he whispers.

"Go back to sleep," she tells him before hanging up the phone, not giving him a chance to respond to her.

Jay gets up to wash off his hand before going back to bed, bringing a roll of paper towels with him. He manages to fall back into a fairly restful sleep until his alarm wakes him the next morning.

* * *

Jay wakes up to the sound of his alarm, forcing himself awake, Jay gets out of bed, knowing if he hits the snooze button, he will fall back asleep and be late for work.

Jay searches his medicine cabinet looking for anything that can give him relief from the symptoms that he is feeling. Not finding anything, Jay decides to leave for work early so he can stop at the pharmacy on his way in.

Getting ready for the day, Jay leaves making a detour to CVS to pick up some DayQuil capsules. Swallowing the pills with some water he left in his car the other day, Jay heads into the district, hoping it's going to be a slow day.

Arriving at the district, Jay finds he is the first one in, having misjudged the time it would take to stop at CVS. Jay puts his belongings at his desk before he goes into the breakroom to lay on the couch for a little bit before the others arrive.

This is where Hailey finds him when she comes in thirty minutes later. Not wanting to cause him a coughing fit like he had last night, Hailey is careful when waking him. She gently rubs his back, feeling the heat through his shirt, "Jay, wake up." Not getting a response, she puts a little more pressure on his back.

"Wha's da matter?" Jay mumbles as he starts to wake up.

"Nothing, but you need to wake up. It's almost the start of the day," she tells him. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great, but I just took something."

"Okay, we can give that a chance to work, but if you need a ride home, let me know. I brought you some tea with honey. Do you think you can drink that for me instead of having coffee today?"

"Sure," Jay tells her as he gets up.

Jay's wish comes true as they stay in the bullpen working on updating CI files. By lunch, Jay is forcing himself to stay awake. Noticing the state that his detective is in, Voight calls Hailey into his office, "Upton, take him home and stay with him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Voight doesn't need to say a name for either of them to know who he is referring to, as Jay looks physically worn down along with the hacking cough.

 _Easier said than done_ , Hailey thinks to herself, while answering Voight, "Okay."

"Jay," Hailey places a hand on his shoulder grabbing his attention, "Come on, Voight wants me to take you home."

"I don't-" Jay starts.

"Jay," Hailey interrupts, "You sound terrible. Go home, sleep off the worst of this, and come back in a few days."

Feeling like shit, Jay reluctantly agrees following Hailey out to her car. The drive is quiet sans Jay's coughing. Hailey periodically looks over to him on the drive, wanting to make sure that he is still okay.

Getting Jay into his apartment, Hailey settles him onto his couch in a position where he is partly sitting up, claiming he should be flat on his back. "When was the last time you took your temperature?" she questions him.

"At your place," he answers, trying not to cough.

"Jay," she states disapprovingly, "You need to keep an eye on that. Do you have a thermometer?" she questions. Jay only shrugs his shoulders, not knowing since it was always someone else who took care of things like that. "Okay, I'm going to check." Hailey walks off to his bathroom to look for the device.

"Found one," Hailey shows him the device as she walks out of the bathroom. Sticking it into his ear, she reads the reading out loud, "101.8, it went up since then. Can you have something for it yet?" She asks, not knowing when the last time he took medication was.

"No, not for a couple more hours," he answers after a minute.

"Okay, just try to relax until then. Maybe try to sleep some."

Listening to his partner, Jay turns on to his side and tries to get some sleep. Eventually, Jay is able to fall into an uncomfortable slumber. Not being able to do anything for the case from Jay's apartment, Hailey picks up a Stephen King book laying on Jay's coffee table to read to pass time, keeping an eye on Jay when she notices that he is wheezing in his sleep and he is waking up enough to go through a couple of coughing fits before going falling back into his slumber.

Getting lost in the book, Hailey doesn't realize how much time has passed until she hears her phone going off with a text from Adam, _Are you going to meet us at Molly's?_

Hailey looks over to Jay, before answering, _No, I'm going to stay with Jay._

_How's he doing?_

_He's been asleep almost the whole time._

_Then take a break. He won't notice you're gone._

_I can't. I don't like the way his breathing sounds._

_He'll be fine._

Hailey doesn't bother answering Adam's last text. Looking over at Jay, Hailey is torn between waking him to give him more medicine and letting him sleep. Hailey decides the best way to make her decision is to check his temperature, if his fever went up she will wake him, if not she will let him sleep.

Sticking the device in his ear, she is concerned when it doesn't wake him, as he is a light sleeper. Seeing the reading of 102.4, Hailey knows that she has to wake him up, "Jay," she shakes his shoulder gently. "Wake up." Jay answers her with a moan. "Jay, you need to take more medicine to get your fever down."

Jay goes to take in a breath, triggering a coughing fit. Not able to force air into his lungs, Jay tries to stand up, panicked. Seeing her partner in such a state, Hailey's concern heightens, grabbing his arm, she starts talking to him, "Jay, it's okay. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth," she coaxes. Jay tries doing as he is told, only to gag himself. Hailey, knowing what is about to happen grabs a cup that is sitting on the table and places it under his chin. Jay throws up the little that was in his system.

Jay, who finally seemed to catch his breath, bends down to rest his head on Hailey's shoulder. Hailey maneuvers the two of them so they are back to sitting on the couch. "Jay, is that the first time you've coughed so hard you've thrown up?" Hailey asks him, noticing there was a bit of blue to his lips. Jay, not trusting his lungs just shakes his head. "When did it happen before?"

"Las-" Jay coughs.

"Last night?" Hailey clarifies.

Jay nods, focused on his breathing.

"After you left my house?" Jay nods again. "Okay, I think we should go to Med." Jay shakes his head, not wanting to go to the hospital.

"Jay, I really think we should go. Something not right, you shouldn't be coughing so hard that you're throwing up and your lips were tinted blue just now," Hailey then plays her last card to get him to go, "Your brother will kill me if something happened to you because I didn't bring you in."

Jay gives in, whispering a soft, "Okay."

* * *

The ride to Med was quiet, other than Jay's wheezy breathing. Arriving to the ED, Hailey gets Jay signed in where he is forced to wear a mask because of his cough and fever.

"How soon can he be seen?" Hailey asks the admitting nurse Leah.

"As soon as we can, but we're swamped right now," she answers apologetically.

"Okay, well is Will Halstead here? Can you let him know Jay is here?" Hailey asks.

"His shift ended an hour ago. He already left." She apologizes again.

Hailey thanks her before going back to Jay. Sitting next to him, Jay leans his head on her, "I know," Hailey comforts as she rubs his back.

They stay in that position for over two hours, Jay drifting in and out of consciousness when Hailey sees a familiar doctor.

"Natalie," she calls, causing the doctor to walk over to them.

"Hey, what brings you guys here?" she asks, trying not to feel awkward around her ex-fiancé's brother and his partner.

"Jay's not feeling great. Do you think you can get him seen faster? He has this bad cough where he can't catch his breath. We came because he was coughing so hard he threw up some and his lips turned a little blue," Hailey asks.

"Yeah," she tells Hailey before turning to Jay, "Do you think you can walk, or do you need a wheelchair?"

"I can wal-" Jay starts.

Hearing the sound of his cough, Natalie makes it her priority to get him out of the waiting room. She quickly brings him a wheelchair and the two get Jay into it before going to a treatment room.

"How long has he had that cough?" Natalie asked Hailey, noticing Jay can't really talk in full sentences.

"I noticed it last night when we were watching the game, but you know how he is; he could have had it for longer and did a good job hiding it. Why? What do you think it is?" Hailey asks.

"I need to take a swab and possibly blood test to confirm it, but it sounds like pertussis," Natalie tells the blonde detective.

"Pertussis? Isn't that whooping cough? I thought there was a vaccine for that," Hailey exclaims.

"There is," Natalie confirms, "And with Jay being in the military at some point, he would have gotten it. This means the dose he got wasn't effective, or the vaccine became less effective over time."

"So what does this mean?"

"We'll get him on antibiotics —you and the rest of the unit should probably take precautionary antibiotics-"

"Is Jay okay?" Will asks as he rushes into the room.

"How did you know he was here?" Natalie asks confused.

"Maggie texted me," Will answers going to his brother's head.

"I need to test to confirm it, but I'm pretty sure it's pertussis," Natalie repeats to the worried brother, as she is looking up his medical file on her iPad. "Hey, it says he never had the vaccine or the boosters," she notices. "Does he realized that he's putting other people in danger by not getting it? How was he in the military without it? What if Jay was around Owen before he was protected?"

"Natalie," Will starts, "He had the first one and it almost killed him, our parents thought he was dead and rushed him to the hospital. He had a severe allergic reaction to it and was medically exempted," he explains, hoping she won't think that Jay is an anti-vaxer.

"Sorry, but what happens now?" Hailey asks, wanting to know what is going on with her partner.

"It sounds like he's in stage two. So the coughing is normal, this stage normally lasts one to six weeks, but can last up to ten weeks. The coughing will subside significantly when he's in stage three."

"What about work?"

"He's going to be out at least until he finishes the antibiotics, but he probably won't feel up to being at work for a few weeks at least. He should probably contact your HR department."

"When can he go home?"

"I want to admit him unless someone can stay with him because he's not vaccinated, he is in a high-risk category for complications."

"I can stay with him at night, Nat," Will tells her.

"Okay, I'm going to send in a resident to get the swab and draw blood."

* * *

Two hours later, with an official diagnosis of pertussis, Will and Hailey leave with Jay, "Are you coming back to Jay's?" Will asks as he helps Jay into his car.

"No, I'm going to head into the district for a little bit," Hailey answers. At Will's confused look, she elaborates, "I took Jay home around lunch, so I haven't gotten much done today."

"Okay, I'll have him text you later," Will tells her before getting into his car.

The ride to Jay's apartment was quiet, mostly because Jay was drowsy from the first round of antibiotics he received before leaving Med.

Arriving at Jay's apartment, Will more or less supported all of Jay's weigh. Getting Jay into his room and settled for bed, Will leaves the door cracked so he can hear him as whooping cough is worse at night.

* * *

The next day, Hailey arrives to the district early, wanting to talk to Voight about Jay. "Sarge, do you have a second?" Hailey asks knocking on his office door.

"What do you need Upton?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Jay's going to be out for a while. He's going to call HR when he wakes up, but he has whooping cough."

"Do you have an idea of how long?"

"At least until he finishes antibiotics, but Dr. Manning said he's probably not going to feel up to working for several weeks."

"Okay, we'll rotate partners around some until he comes back," Voight tells her, ending the conversation.

Hailey goes back to her desk and sends Jay a text, reminding him to call HR when he wakes up.

"Hey, how's Jay?" Kim asks.

"Pretty sick. How did you know?" she asks in return.

"One, he looked terrible before Voight sent him home yesterday and two, Adam was complaining how you were staying with Jay instead of meeting at Molly's last night," she answers while rolling her eyes at the second reason. "So do you know what he has? It's too early for flu season," Kim wonders.

"Yeah, I ended up taking him to Med. He has whooping cough,' Hailey answers.

"Isn't there a vaccine for that?"

"Will said that Jay had a medical exemption from that one."

"Isn't whooping cough dangerous?"

"More so in young children than adults, but Will's staying with Jay to keep an eye on him."

"And Adam was making fun of him last night."

"He's a child."

* * *

Eight weeks later, Hailey is on the phone with Jay, "Are you sure you're ready to come back?" she questions.

"Hailey, it's been eight weeks. I'll go out of my mind if I have to stay cooped up in my apartment any longer," he coughs.

"You're still coughing," she counters.

"It's not as bad. Will said that I'm in the third stage now; the cough will still be there but it's not as often. Besides, desk duty is better than nothing."

"There's no changing your mind?"

"No."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," he echoes.

Walking into the bullpen the next day, Jay finds a large bottle of hand sanitizer, along with gloves and hospital masks on his desk as a joke. Jay moves the items out of the way with a laugh, having missed the antics of his team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 101.3= 38.5  
> 101.8= 38.8  
> 102.4= 39.1


	17. Q is for Quiet Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dark secret from Jay's past is brought up during a case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post-Season 7  
> Completed: June 24, 2020

Hailey could tell that something was bothering her partner. He was being quieter than normal and more focused on the case than he usually was, not that he didn't normally focus during their cases, but there was something different about this one. She knows that cases involving kids always affect him differently than the rest of the team, but this is not his usual behavior that appears when they have a case involving kids.

"Hey, is everything okay?" she asks him softly when she gets him alone in the break room.

"Fine," he answers, not looking at her.

"Jay," she challenged.

"I'm fine," he repeats.

"Okay," she gives up. "But you know you can talk to me, right?" Hailey reminds him.

"I know."

Before either of them can say anything else, Adam rushes into the breakroom, "Guys, we got something. Voight wants us rolling yesterday."

Knowing that she can't talk to Jay right now, Hailey sighs before following Adam out of the breakroom with Jay behind her.

* * *

Getting into the passenger side of Jay's truck, Hailey keeps glancing over to her partner– unable to keep the worry at bay.

"Drop it, Hailey," Jay tells her when he notices. "Please," he adds.

"Fine. For now."

They arrive at their location before either can utter another word.

Assembling into the positions that Voight assigned them to, the unit waits for Voight's signal to breach the house. Hailey and Jay are at the front, Kim and Adam are covering the back incase their suspect tries to make a run for it, and Kevin and Vanessa are waiting at his garage to make sure he can't get away that way.

Hearing their signal, Hailey and Jay breach the door. The door hits the wall and alerts the suspect of their presence, "Chicago PD!" The two detectives announce as they enter.

Hailey and Jay hear a commotion coming from the room off to the left. They look to each other having a silent conversation before entering the room, Hailey first then Jay.

Before the suspect has a chance to try anything, Hailey has him on the ground with Jay pointing his gun at him while she cuffs him.

"Daniel Neuman, you are under arrest for sexual abuse of a minor," Hailey tells him as she hauls him up.

"Neuman is in custody," Jay tells the others through his radio.

Hearing this, the rest of the team comes into the house to help clear the rest of it.

* * *

"Look at this," Adam calls to Kim who was helping him with the room he was in.

"What is it?" she asks while walking over to him.

Without saying anything Adam passes her a shoebox filled with hundreds of pictures of children. In all of them, the children are scared and naked.

"How can anyone do this?" she asks herself.

"Because they're fucked up. We can add child porn to his charges."

The two continue to search the room that they are in while the rest of the team searches the other rooms.

* * *

Back at the district, Neuman is in an integration room while the intelligence unit is in the bullpen trying to gather all the information together that they have before interrogating him.

"He had thousands of pictures of child porn on a file in his computer," Kevin tells the unit as he was put in charge of searching the computers.

"That and the hundreds of pictures printed and hidden in shoe boxes," Kim adds.

"So, child porn, and sexual abuse of a child," Hailey states. "Do we have anything else on him?"

"Trafficking?" Vanessa asks.

"No evidence," Adam tells her.

After discussing a few more things, Voight announces that they are ready to "talk" to Neuman.

"Let me," Jay demands as he gets up out of his chair.

Voight and Hailey look at each other. "No, Halstead. You're too close," Voight tells him. "Adam and Kim take lead."

"What are you talking about? I'm not too close to this," Jay argues.

"Don't argue with me or I'll make you ride the desk for the rest of the case," Voight threatens his detective before giving Hailey the _control your partner_ look.

Hailey gives a slight nod, "Jay, come on. Let's get some real coffee, I think this is going to be a long day," Hailey tugs Jay along, not giving him a chance to decline.

* * *

"I know what you're doing," Jay tells her from the passenger side of her jeep.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hailey answers as she pulls up to a Starbucks.

"You're going to try to get me to talk," he answers. "I don't want to."

"It's okay. You don't have to," Hailey reassures him. "I just wanted to get you away for a bit, let you cool off."

"I don't need to cool off; I need to nail the guy."

"Jay, breath. We have him. There's no way Voight is going to let him walk. And he will get what he has coming to him."

"It's not going to help the kids though."

"We are going to get justice for those kids. And make sure he can't harm any more kids," Hailey reminds him.

"Yeah, but they lost their childhood," Jay whispers sadly.

Not knowing what to say, Hailey just rubs his arm as they walk back out to her jeep; hoping that her action tells him what she can't put into words.

* * *

It takes the unit another three hours after Hailey and Jay get back from their coffee run before they are able to get their confession.

Voight looks at his unit from the doorway to his office, seeing the looks of exhaustion of his team's face. "Paperwork can wait until tomorrow," Voight decides, knowing that they aren't going to focus on their reports.

A chorus of "Thanks Sarge," echoed the bullpen before the sound of computers shutting down for the night.

"Anyone up for Molly's?" Ruzek asks the group walks past the desk to the front doors of the district. "I need a drink."

"I'm going to pass," Jay answers.

"Sorry, Adam," Hailey adds knowing she has a better chance of getting Jay to talk if it was just the two of them.

Kim, Vanessa, and Kevin agree to meet at Molly's while Hailey convinces Jay to meet at her place.

* * *

Jay reluctantly follows Hailey in his truck, knowing if he ditched her, she would just show up at his place. "You know that I just wanted to go home and get drunk," Jay questions Hailey as they walk into her house.

"I know, but I know this case has been bothering you."

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"I know, but you shouldn't be getting drunk alone," Hailey tells him as she grabs the whiskey.

"Thanks," Jay whispers when she hands him the glass, thanking her for both the drink and not prying for information.

"You know that I'm here– if you want to talk?" Hailey asks.

Jay's only response was to nod.

The two sit in silence at Hailey's island for two more hours before she decides to cut him off. Hailey knows better than letting Jay drive home, so she makes up the couch for him.

Hailey texts Vanessa to let her know that Jay was crashing on the couch before going to bed herself.

* * *

Vanessa walks into the house just past midnight, being careful not to wake the sleeping former Ranger. As she walks past the living room, she can hear snoring coming from the couch.

Bypassing the living room, Vanessa goes up the stairs and to her room.

* * *

At three in the morning, Hailey wakes up needing something to drink. She gets up and quietly goes down the stairs, not wanting to wake the light sleeper on the couch.

As she fills her glass with water, she can hear a quiet whimper from the couch. Forgetting about her water, Hailey goes to check on Jay.

Walking up to the couch, Hailey finds Jay curled up in as much of a ball as his tall frame allows. Tears streaming down his face, Hailey can hear him repeatedly saying _no_ and _stop_.

Hearing her partner cry out, Hailey's heart drops for the emotional pain that he is in. Carefully, Hailey approaches him.

"Jay," she whispers. "Jay, wake up. It's okay, you're okay," she continues while rubbing his arm gently trying to wake him.

Jay moans, digging. His head further into the pillow, his cries getting louder every time.

"Jay, it's Hailey. You're safe, you're in Chicago."

After what feels like forever, Hailey is able to wake Jay.

"Hailey what's going on?" he asks groggily.

"I think you were dreaming," Hailey answers.

"Hailey is everything okay?" Vanessa asks tiredly coming down the stairs.

"Yeah, go back to bed," Hailey answers. She waits until she hears Vanessa's door shut before turning her attention back to Jay. "Do you know where you are?"

"Chicago on a couch," Jay answers.

"Good, do you remember crashing at my place?"

"No."

"It's okay. We had a rough case and you had a lot to drink so you stayed on the couch," Hailey tells Jay, watching as he nods showing that he is with her. "I'm going to get you something to drink," Hailey tells him, not giving him a chance to deny her.

Hailey grabs a second glass and fills it before going back out to Jay. "Here," she hands him the glass wanting him to drink.

"Thanks."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"These cases affect you differently than the other ones."

"We all have those cases that get to us."

"I know, but it gets to you more than the rest of the team's 'those' cases."

"Did I ever tell you about my high school girlfriend's little brother?"

"No," Hailey whispers, not knowing what to say so Jay doesn't shut down on her.

"His name was Ben. And he was eight-years-old when he was raped and murdered by a pedophile. It took seven years before his parents were able to get closure. I was a patrol officer when I found his body in a park."

"I think that it's more than that. You were talking in your sleep," Hailey tells him. It was like you were the one who was being abused."

Jay doesn't say anything.

"Did someone ever touch you?"

"You can't tell anyone," Jay answers, confirming her thoughts.

"Who was it?"

"You can't tell anyone."

"Jay, whoever hurt you could still be hurting other kids."

"No, he can't. He died ten years ago."

"Jay talk to me," Hailey whispers.

"I can't."

"You can."

"You can't tell anyone. People already think I'm damaged."

"You're not damaged."

"I have PTSD and I was molested. I am damaged"

"Yes. You have PTSD and you were molested, but that doesn't make you damaged," Hailey tells him while pulling him into a hug.

"You can't tell anyone. No one knows."

"Okay, I won't tell anyone. But you can talk to me about anything- you're my best friend."

"I can't. You'll leave because I'm fucked up."

"I'm not leaving. I promise."

"I don't feel like talking right now," Jay tells her.

"Okay. Why don't you lay down, it's late… or early," Hailey tells him.

Jay looks at her as if he is trying to decide if she's telling the truth.

Hailey more to a more comfortable position, "Lay down," she tells him, pulling him down so his head is resting on her lap. She runs her hand through his hair trying to settle him down.

Hailey falls asleep soon after she knows Jay is out.

* * *

"What's going on here?" Vanessa asks when she walks down the stairs the next morning.

"Shh," Hailey shushes her. "He had a rough night," she tells her as she tries to slip out from under Jay's head.

"Want to talk?"

"No, it's Jay's decision not mine," Hailey answers while starting the coffee.

Jay chooses that moment to walk into the kitchen.

"What are you talking about?" he asks.

"Don't worry about it," Hailey tells him.

"Hailey?" Jay asks.

"It's nothing," Hailey reinforces before pulling him out the door with travel coffee mugs.

* * *

The day turns into a paperwork day. The team is mostly silent as they are still thinking about the kids they weren't able to save.

* * *

Getting ready to leave at the end of the day, Jay pulls Hailey to the side. "Can you stop by my place?"

Knowing that it took Jay a lot to ask that, she agrees immediately. Hailey follows Jay in her own car, mentally preparing herself for what the conversation might hold.

Arriving at his apartment building, they walk to his unit in silence.

Leading Hailey to his couch, Jay stares straight ahead saying, "It was my hockey coach."

"Jay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to or aren't ready to."

"No. I need to."

"Okay. Take all the time you need."

"When I was a sophomore, I joined the hockey team. It was fine at first, but after a while, the coach started acting differently towards me and some of the others. I caught him staring at some of the other guys on the team sometimes. Half-way through the season, he started cornering me after practice," Jay takes a breath.

"Take your time."

"One day, he called me into his office. Told me that if I wanted to be a better player, I should do what he said. He touched me. It was over my clothes, but still…"

"Jay, that doesn't matter. It was still wrong."

"I know that– now. But as a kid, you don't think that. But, uh, he would keep me after practice and give me 'lessons'."

"Why did he do that to me? Why- how could anyone do that to a kid?" Jay asks.

"Because they are sick and don't deserve to be a part of society."

"How did he get away with it?"

"Di-have you ever thought about talking to someone? It sounds like there's still a lot you're trying to work through."

"No, and I don't want anyone to find out."

"If you talked to someone, they wouldn't be able to tell anyone. Confidentiality."

"I'd rather not."

"Okay, you know I'm here for you? Doesn't matter what time it is."

"Thanks, I need a drink. Do you want something?" Jay asks wanting to change the subject.

"Whatever you're having."

* * *

"What's going on with you?" Will asks when Jay finally answers his door.

"What do you mean?" Jay answers with his own question.

"You've been acting different for weeks now," Will tells him.

"I'm fine."

"Jay, you may be a detective, but I'm still your older brother. I can tell when you're lying to me."

"It's nothing."

"Hailey told me you had a rough case."

Jay turns towards his brother so fast he gives himself whiplash.

"Relax, Jay. She didn't tell me anything, just that you took it harder than normal."

"The case involved kids."

"It's always hard when it involves kids," Will acknowledges from his own line of work.

"It was a pedophile."

"Did you get him?"

"Yeah, it just brought up some things."

"What things?"

"Just thing."

"What things."

"Things that if I tell you, you will look at me differently?"

"You're my brother. Nothing will change that."

"I told Hailey. I don't know if I'm ready to tell someone else."

"Okay. But you know I'm here?"

"Yeah," Jay responds. "You should leave, I'm kinda tired. I just want to go to bed."

"You can go to bed, but I'm not leaving."

"There's no changing your mind, is there?"

"No. You know I love you, little brother? Nothing will change that."

"Yeah, you know where the blankets are."

* * *

Will wakes up just past midnight to the sound of retching. Knowing that it has to be Jay, Will is up and going towards the sound before he was fully awake.

Walking into the bathroom, he finds Jay leaning over the toilet. "Hey, you're okay," he comforts as he rubs his brother's back.

"Go 'way," Jay mumbles in between heaves.

"Not happening," Will tells him. "You don't feel warm," he comments feeling Jay's head.

"I don't feel sick."

"Uh-huh, sure," Will agrees.

"It was just a dream."

"A dream that literally made you sick."

"Can we skip the lecture?"

"Jay, I'm worried."

"Don't be."

"This isn't healthy."

"I just want to forget about it."

"Forget about what?"

Jay remains silent.

"Here, drink this," Will hands Jay a cup of water, "You're clammy."

Jay listens to Will, drinking the water. "Ready to talk?" Will asks. Jay looks at Will with a puppy look. "No getting out of it."

"Can we at least move somewhere else?"

"Do you think you're done?" Will asks motioning to the toilet.

"Yeah."

"Okay, come on," Will helps Jay up and the go out to the couch.

"Do you remember the hockey coach at the high school?" Jay asks when they make it to the couch.

"Yeah, he was a bit weird."

"He was doing things to some of the guys on the team. And about half-way through the season, he a started doing things to me, too."

"'Things'," Will questions, knowing what is next but not wanting a confirmation.

"He was molesting us– me," Jay confirms, not looking Will in the eye.

Hearing this Will pulls Jay into an embrace, "I'm not leaving, you're okay. I got you."

Hearing this is a relief to Jay but is still afraid that his brother will think differently of him. "I didn't want to. I'm not gay," Jay mumbles.

"I know. You did nothing wrong; it's all on him."

"I couldn't stop him."

"I know. If he wasn't already dead, I would kill him myself," Will tells him.

"You probably shouldn't tell that to a cop," Jay tries to joke.

"I know someone who can get me out of trouble," Will jokes.

They remain silent for a few minutes before Jay starts to drift off. "Hey, why don't you go back to bed?"

Jay nods, before hooking to Will. "I'll be right here," he reassures.

"You're staying?"

"I am," he promises. "Get me if you need anything."


	18. R is for Rash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets chickenpox as kids, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Late Season 6; AU- Med Natalie and Will still together  
> Completed: Dec. 12, 2019

"Say good night to Uncle Jay and Will," Natalie tells her son as she leads him to his room when she notices him falling asleep against Will.

"Night-night, Will. Night-night Uncle Jay."

"Goodnight, Buddy," Will tells his girlfriend's son, taking his eyes off of the game momentarily.

"Goodnight, Owen," Jay tells his pseudo nephew, briefly looking away from the game.

Both brothers go back to the television and focus on the Blackhawks game. Will looks over to his younger brother as the second period comes close to ending, having noticed that Jay has become increasingly quiet. Jay is staring blankly at the game and looks over when he feels Will staring at him. "Is everything okay? You got really quiet," Will asks his brother.

"Yeah, fine. Just the case," Jay answers him. Will gives him a knowing look that it is more to it than that. "Can I sleep here tonight? I don't feel good," Jay tells his brother. Will is immediately concerned, reaching over to feel his forehead. "I have a headache and I'm really tired," Jay elaborates, hoping it will calm his brother.

"I think you're running a fever too," Will says, now noticing that Jay's cheeks are a bit flushed. "Okay, wait here," Will tells Jay as he heads to the bathroom to look for a thermometer and Tylenol.

Finding what he is looking for, he takes the small white device and the bottle of pills out to the living room where Jay is. His brother is resting his head in his arm leaning against the side of the couch. "Open up, Jay," Will orders Jay after turning on the thermometer. Too tired to argue, Jay does as he's told. After the device beeps, Will takes it from Jay before his brother has a chance to mess with the reading, "101.4. Here take this," Will says handing the medicine to his brother.

Jay takes the offered pills before trying to lean back against his brother, "No. Go to bed Jay," Will orders him when he feels Jay lean against him, also feeling the heat emitting from his head.

"No, the game's not over," Jay argues.

"Jay, go to bed. You should be sleeping in an actual bed and I'm not going to wake you up in forty-five minutes when the game is over to make you go to bed."

"This is an important game. It's just a headache, I won't fall asleep."

"You're also running a mild fever; I know it's making you feel miserable," Will tells Jay, who tends to be a pain in the ass when he's sick.

"Fine," Jay grumbles while making his way to the spare bedroom that he stays in whenever he spends the night.

"What was that about?" Natalie asks Will as she comes back from putting Owen to bed, "Is Jay okay?"

"Yeah, he's not feeling great, so I sent him to bed. He wasn't happy."

"He'll be fine. He's just stubborn, like another Halstead I know," she tells him while rubbing his shoulders. "Do you want me to check on him?"

"No, I've got it. He can be a pain when he's not feeling well," Will denies her offer before he goes to check on Jay.

"Jay, it's me. Can I come in?" Will asks as he knocks on the door. Hearing a muffled response, he opens the door.

"I'm sorry," Jay apologizes before Will can say anything.

"For what?" Will asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Arguing with you."

"I know. Remember, I know how you are when you get sick?" Jay remains silent, "Do you need anything?" Will asks.

"No."

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Okay, but you can wake me if you need anything," Will reminds him. Jay just nods his head to show that he heard him. "Okay, night, love you. Hopefully, you'll feel better in the morning."

"Night, love you too," Jay mummers as he drifts to sleep. Will fixes the covers on Jay before he leaves, closing the door behind him.

"How'd it go?" Natalie asks when she sees Will come out of Jay's room.

"Fine, he was sleeping by the time I shut the door."

"Are you going to bed or are you going to bed?" Natalie asks.

"Game's almost over, the Knights aren't coming back," Will decides as his answer.

* * *

In the morning, Will is in the kitchen with Natalie and Owen. "Did you hear Jay at all though the night?" Will asks Natalie.

"I checked on him when I checked on Owen. He still felt warm so I woke him long enough to get some more Tylenol in him. I know we're supposed to alternate with Motrin, but I know you said he's allergic to something and I couldn't remember what it was."

"Thanks for checking on him and he can have Motrin," Will lets her know. "Should I che-" Will starts to ask when Jay appears in the kitchen.

"Hey, how are you feeling Jay?" Will asks reaching to feel his head.

"Better," Jay lies.

"You still feel a little warm. Let me check your temperature again before you eat or drink anything." Will goes into the living room to grab the thermometer from where they'd left it. "Open," he orders Jay when he returns. Knowing better than to argue with his brother, Jay does as he is told. Jay watches the numbers climb and once they hit 100.2, he moves the device in his mouth, hoping that it won't get too much higher. Will takes the thermometer from Jay once it beeps, "100.7," he announces. "Eat a little and then you can take some Motrin."

"I should actually get going, thanks for letting me stay."

"You have time. Eat and take the medicine," Will orders.

"I'm not that hungry."

Sensing that an argument was about to break out between the brothers, Natalie steps in, "Jay, I know you aren't hungry, but do you think you can eat some toast? I gave you some medicine through the night, you can't keep taking it on an empty stomach. I have yogurt too if that sounds better," Natalie tries to talk Jay into eating.

Not wanting to upset his brother's girlfriend he reluctantly agrees, "Okay," he whispers.

"Okay, do you want toast or yogurt?"

"Um, yogurt, I guess."

"Okay, is peach okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Jay says as she hands him the container.

Jay slowly eats the yogurt before Will allows him to take the Motrin. "I should get going."

"Okay," Will answers, "Call me if you need anything," he calls to Jay's retreating form.

"I shouldn't have let him go to work," Will voices his concern to Natalie.

"Will, he's a grown man. You can't stop him; but, if you're really worried, you can text Hailey to keep an eye on him."

"That's a good idea as he reaches for his phone." _Hey, can you keep an extra eye on Jay today?_

He gets a reply back fairly quickly, _Okay. Is there something I should be looking out for?_

_He wasn't feeling well last night. Had a fever and was still running a low-grade one when he left a few minutes ago._

_Okay. I have his back._

* * *

When Jay arrives, Hailey is already in the bullpen going over some files. "Hey, you good?" she asks when he takes a seat at his desk.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just checking. You were quiet when we left yesterday."

Before Jay can say anything else, Voight sends them to see if they can find any witnesses.

"Do you mind driving?" he asks when they walk to the parking lot.

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just a headache," Jay tells her as he tries to convince himself.

"Do you want something for it? I have some Advil in my locker."

"No, it should pass," he states as he gets in her car.

The ride is silent as Jay shuts down every attempt that Hailey tries to make a conversation. Finding that their scene is deserted, Hailey and Jay get out and do a once over before getting back into the car.

* * *

On the way back, Jay starts rubbing at his chest finding it itching where the seatbelt is touching him.

Hailey, keeping her promise to the older Halstead, notices his actions, "Are you okay, Jay?" She asks him when she sees that he is not leaving it alone after five minutes.

"Yeah."

"Are you allergic to something?"

"I haven't been near anything that I'm allergic to."

"Have you been near poison ivy or oak?"

"I don't think so."

"I'm going to check when we get back."

"You don't have to."

"You're my partner. If you're not going to take care of yourself, I'm going to make sure you do."

Before Jay can say anything to that, they arrive back to the district. Walking into the building, Hailey forces Jay into the locker room, "Take off your shirt," she orders, wanting to see what he is scratching at.

"That's not necessary."

"Jay, either you let me look at it, or I'm taking you to Med to get checked out," Hailey gives him a choice.

Not wanting to go to Med, Jay does what he is told, revealing a rash of tiny, red bumps covering his chest and abdomen. "That wasn't there this morning," Jay tells her surprised.

"It's okay," she tells him as she examines the rash. "You're burning up," she told his as she felt his forehead. "Do you feel sick?"

"I'm tired and I have a headache," Jay tells her the same thing that he told Will last night, adding, "My throat kinda hurts a little too."

Thinking about it, Hailey asks, "Have you ever had the chickenpox?"

"I was told I got it from Will; when I was two, maybe," Jay tells her, not remembering having it, but from being told from his parents and Will.

"But you don't remember?" she asks.

"I was two," he repeats annoyed as he puts his shirt back on.

"Okay," Hailey sighs, "I'm going to let Voight know that you're sick and I'm taking you home. We can figure out what it is later. Don't scratch; I'll be right back."

"'Kay," Jay whispers, knowing a lost battle when he sees one.

Hailey leaves Jay in the locker room to let Voight know what they found and to also let him know that she was taking Jay home.

"Did you lose your partner?" Voight asks when he sees Hailey enter the bullpen without Jay.

"Can we talk in your office?" Hailey asks, not answering his question.

Without saying a word Voight leads Hailey into his office, "Well? What couldn't you say in front of the others?"

"We didn't find anything, but that's not what this is about," Hailey informs him.

"Is this about Halstead?"

"Yeah, I'm taking him home. He's not feeling well-"

"Halstead's a big boy, he can take care of himself."

"Sarge, I don't trust him by himself right now. For one, he has a fever, headache, and is tired; he shouldn't be driving. But I'm more concerned about the rash he has," Hailey explains as she fights for her partner.

"Okay, let him know that he's on medical leave until the rash clears up. If it takes longer than three days, he needs to be cleared by a doctor other than his brother," Voight tells her, implying she can take the rest of the day to watch out for her partner.

"Will do, Sarge," Hailey answered as she makes her way out of the bullpen back to the locker room.

* * *

Walking back into the locker room, she finds Jay asleep on the bench that she left him on. Not wanting to wake him, but knowing that he would sleep better on his bed, she approaches him, hoping that he will wake up enough to walk to her car. "Jay, wake up," Hailey is careful as she doesn't want to startle him, knowing there is a good chance if she did, he would fall off of the narrow bench.

"Wha'?"

"It's time to go home. I cleared it with Voight," Hailey tells him softly.

"M'kay," Jay replies as he sleepily gets up. With the help of Hailey, Jay makes it to her car, never fully waking up.

The ride to Jay's apartment is once again silent; Jay having fallen asleep soon after they left the district and Hailey not wanting to wake him.

Just before arriving at his apartment, Jay wakes up trying to scratch at the rash. "No, Jay," Hailey takes her right hand off of the wheel to stop him.

"But it itches," he wines, not caring if it makes him sound like a child.

"I know, but you can't. When we get in your place, you can take some Benadryl to help," she offers, hoping that she assumed right that he has Benadryl for his allergies.

Before Jay has a chance to respond, Hailey parks the car outside of his building. The two walk in, taking the elevator.

"Go change into something comfortable," Hailey orders when he lets them into the apartment. "Do you have a thermometer?" Hailey asks as she makes her way into the bathroom to look for Tylenol and Benadryl.

"If I do it would be in the bathroom," he answers voice muffle through the bedroom door.

Searching through his medicine cabinet, Hailey finds an ear thermometer and both Benadryl and regular Tylenol and Tylenol PM. Even though it is still early she grabs both the Benadryl and Tylenol PM, hoping it will knock him out.

"Jay, can I come in?" Hailey asks as she knocks on his door. Hearing a muffled _yes_ , she opens the door to Jay rubbing at his chest again. "Stop that Jay."

"I can't help it," he tells her.

"I know, here take these. They should help," Hailey encourages as she hands over the pills.

"What are they?"

"Benadryl and Tylenol." Accepting her answer Jay takes the offered medicine. "I should check your temperature too."

"Did you find a thermometer?"

"Yeah. Turn your head, it goes in your ear." Doing as he is told, Hailey sticks the device in his ear, getting the reading in seconds, "102.3. Okay, you can lay down now," Hailey tells him, hoping if he is laying down, he will fall back to sleep sooner.

"Are you going back to work?" Jay asks.

"Not yet. I'm going to call Will and see if he remembers. Go to sleep," Hailey leaves Jay's room, not wanting to disturb him.

"Hey, Hailey," Will picks up on the second ring, "Is Jay okay?"

"I had to bring him home. Hey, question: Has Jay ever had the chickenpox? He said he was told that he did, but he doesn't actually remember having it."

"Yeah, he got it from me when he was a baby. Why?"

"He said he has a headache, sore throat, and was tired. He also has a 102.3 fever and has a rash on his chest and stomach. The rash looks like chickenpox, but you can't get that twice, right."

"Okay, that's higher than last night, have you given him anything?"

"Benadryl and Tylenol. I was hoping that if he's sleeping, he won't bother with the rash."

"Okay, that was a good idea. He can be a pain in the ass when he's sick. And some people do get it twice, considering he had a mild case before and he was so young, he could have it again."

"Should I bring him to Med? Isn't it dangerous for adults?"

"It is dangerous, but it sounds like we caught it early. Is it anywhere else?"

"I didn't ask or check, but he's only been scratching at his chest."

"Okay, don't drag him out. I can come check on him during my break and if it is, I can get an anti-viral for him. Can you stay with him 'til I can check on him?"

"Yeah, no problem." Hailey hangs up and turns on his television, muting the sound and putting the captions on, so she doesn't disturb him.

* * *

Half an hour later, Jay emerges from his room, blanket draped around him. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Hailey asks when she notices him.

"Sick," he answers, half-awake while moving to lay on the couch, head in her lap. "Is this okay?" he asks after a moment, realizing what he is doing.

"Yeah, whatever makes you comfortable. So, I called Will," Hailey tells him.

"What did he say?"

"He said that you did have it when you were a baby, but it was mild. He also said that because of your age and the fact that it was mild, it is possible that you have it again now."

"Great," Jay sarcastically mutters.

"He's going to stop by on his break to check you over. If it is, you'll need an anti-viral." Jay's only response is to give a tired hum.

Knowing that between the medicine she gave him and him already being tired, Jay was most likely already back to dreamland.

Will ends up texting Hailey an hour later when he gets to Jay's apartment to be let in, so to not wake his brother if he was sleeping. Hailey texts back asking if he still has his key and if he does to let himself in, that the chain on the door wasn't being used and explains how Jay is sleeping on her.

Will opens the door soon after he gets her text.

"How's he doing?"

"Tired, sounds miserable, but I think the medicine is working."

"That's good. I need to wake him, so maybe you should move, so you aren't in the line of fire," Will suggests.

"I can wake him," Hailey offers, "I've had to wake him a couple of times and he hasn't been spooked yet."

"If you want to."

"Jay, hey, partner. You need to wake up for a little bit. Will's here to check on you," Hailey whispers.

Jay slowly stirs, "Sleep now."

"You can go back to sleep when he's done, okay?"

"'Kay."

"Can you sit up for him?" With Hailey's help, the tired detective manages to sit up.

"Hey, Bud," Will addresses his brother, "I heard you're not feeling any better." Will then takes his own set of vitals on Jay before looking at the rash that Hailey had told him about. "It looks like she's right; you are one of the unlucky few to get chickenpox twice."

"Great," Jay groans, "Wait, Hailey, you're going to get sick."

"Hey, I'm fine. I had it when I was ten. Relax."

"Will, what about Owen?" Jay panics.

"I think he was vaccinated, but I'll check with Nat."

"What if I got him sick?"

"Jay, calm down. You didn't know, besides healthy kids don't normally have complications from chickenpox, it's adults that do. I'm more worried about you."

"Okay," Jay whispers still upset about potentially getting his soon-to-be nephew sick.

"Jay, I'm going to get you a prescription for an anti-viral. And I need you to tell me if at any point you feel worse. If you think something got infected, or if you start coughing; you're at a higher risk for varicella pneumonia. Don't take anything but Tylenol for the fever," Will warns him.

"Do I need to go to the hospital?"

"Normally I would say yes. But I know you won't rest there, so if you promise to be honest about how you feel and if you tell me if you start to feel worse, I won't make you go unless it's necessary."

"Okay. I will. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yes, I'll be back tonight with the prescription." Jay lays back down to the position he was in before his brother and partner woke him.

* * *

When Will gets back to Med, the first thing he does after getting Jay's prescription is find Natalie.

"Hey, how's Jay?" She asks, knowing that he wasn't feeling well and Will had gone to check on him.

"So, has Owen be vaccinated for chickenpox yet?" He answers her with a question of his own.

"He had the first one, but not the booster yet, Wh… seriously? Jay never got that growing up? How come he didn't get vaccinated for it when the vaccine came out?"

"He did have it as a kid. The thing is, he had a mild case and he was a baby, so he had the bad luck of getting it again," Will tells her.

"I'll take Owen to get a booster today after my shift ends, that should at the very least lessen the severity," Natalie tells Will.

"Wait, you're not mad at Jay?" Will is surprised.

"He didn't know that's what he had. I know he would have never came over last night if he knew," she answers him.

"Thank you," Will sighs.

"For what?" Natalie asks confused.

"For being so understanding," he clarifies, "Jay was in a panic when he realized he exposed Owen."

"And if Owen were to get it, I'd rather him get it now that as a teenager or an adult, like Jay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 101.4= 38.6  
> 100.2= 37.7  
> 100.7= 38.2  
> 102.3= 39.1


	19. S is for Strep Throat & Sinus Infection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay's hit by a double whammy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: Nov. 1, 2019

Jay walks tiredly into the break room of the intelligence bullpen, pouring a cup of hot coffee, hoping it will help his sore throat. This morning he had woken up, feeling like his throat was on fire. He had taken some Tylenol before he had left for work, hoping that it would help get him through the day. Around noon he could tell that the medicine was wearing off, his sore throat returning, along with a headache, and he was starting to feel congested.

Going back to his desk, he discreetly pulls out a bottle of Tylenol and takes two more pills with his coffee, hoping that it would help him manage this cold that seemed to be making its way through the 21st.

The fact that it was a slow day, catching up on paperwork until a case would come in, did not help Jay as he was feeling worse with each passing hour. Hailey notices that her partner is being quiet, and not horsing around with Adam and Kevin like he normally does on slow days. Grabbing his attention, she mouths _Are you okay?_ He just nods, and mouths back, _I'm fine_. Throat hurting too much to actually use his voice and not wanting to alert his partner or their co-workers.

Surprisingly, the criminals of Chicago decided to take a break as, they do not get a new case during the remainder if the day. Seeing as they don't have an active case to work on, Voight lets them leave on time. Ruzek trying to get everyone to join him at Molly's. Kim, Kevin, and Vanessa quickly agree. He then turns to the two detectives, "Yeah, why not?" Hailey answers.

"No, next time," Jay answers, hoarsely.

"You sure?" Ruzek asks again.

Jay clears his throat be for answering, "I'm sure."

The officers in the room leave, wanting to get a head start on the night, leaving Hailey to hang back. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't sound well," she asks, hoping to get an honest answer now that the others have left.

"I'm fine. I just want to get home."

"Okay," she sighs, not completely believing him, "Call me if you need anything. I mean it," she tells him before walking out of the bullpen.

* * *

Jay get back to his apartment, ready to crash. Jay goes to bed without eating, knowing he should, but doesn't have anything that isn't going to hurt his throat. Jay takes some more pills and hopes that he is feeling better in the morning.

* * *

Four hours later, in Molly's the intelligence unit has gathered around one of the bigger tables to catch up on non-work related things. "Hey, does anyone know what's up with Halstead?" Ruzek asks.

"He seemed tired," Kim defends her friend.

"Tired from what?" Ruzek complains, "We just had paperwork and I know his love life hasn't seen much action since the whole Camilla thing," he adds without thinking.

"Adam!" Both of his ex-girlfriends scold him.

"What?"

"Leave him alone," Hailey chides him.

"So, how 'bout the Hawks?" Kevin asks, sensing the tension between Adam and the two girls.

"I should get going," Hailey states.

"What? It's still early," Adam interjected.

"I have some things that I need to do," Hailey lies. She actually plans on checking-in on Jay, having the feeling that he was lying to her. She goes out to her car and starts the drive to Jay's apartment complex.

On the way, she makes a stop at a deli near Jay's to pick him up some soup, knowing that he probably didn't have food at his place.

Arriving at his place, she goes up to his apartment, soup in hand, and knocks on the door. After a few minutes, Jay opens the door. Looking at him, Hailey can tell that she woke him up, "Hey, do we have a case?" Jay asks, voice hardly audible.

"No. I just brought you some soup from the deli," she tells him, while pushing her way in to his kitchen.

"Why?"

"Because I know you didn't eat, if you're getting sick, you need to."

"I'm fine," Jay argues.

"You don't sound fine," Hailey says while looking at him, before quickly reaching to feel his head. "You feel a little warm. Do you have a thermometer?"

"I just woke up," Jay tries to defend himself. Hailey doesn't believe him and gives him a knowing look. "Medicine cabinet in the bathroom."

"Don't eat yet," Hailey says as she goes in search of the desired item. Jay sits down, since standing is too much effort.

Hailey finds the object that she is looking for, bringing it out to the kitchen, where she finds Jay sitting at the counter with his head in his arms. Running the thermometer under water to rinse it off, she turns to Jay, "Open." He listens to her knowing that Hailey can be just as stubborn as he is. The two wait in an awkward silence while waiting for the device to beep. After the thermometer beeps, Hailey takes it from Jay before he has a chance to lie about it. "100.7, when was the last time you took anything?"

"When I got home."

"Okay, eat some and then take some more meds."

"Yes, mom," he teases her. Hailey stays long enough to make sure he eats enough to satisfy her, before handing him some Motrin before leaving.

Jay goes straight back to bed after locking the door again once Hailey has left.

* * *

Jay wakes up the next morning, feeling worse than the day before. Normally a morning person, from his army days, he is usually up a good half hour before his alarm goes off, but this morning he doesn't wake up until his alarm goes off. He contemplates calling off sick, until he sees a text message from Voight that they have a case. The case is serial kidnapping, and Jay can't sit around when kids are involved so he hops in the shower, hoping it will help.

With his throat feeling worse than before, he makes scrambled eggs, hoping it won't irritate his throat. After eating Jay, takes Motrin and then puts the pill bottle in his bag, before leaving hoping that they can find the missing kids fast.

Jay is the last one to arrive in the bullpen, "Nice of you to grace us with your presence, Halstead," Voight gruffly acknowledges him. Jay just ducks his head. "What do we have?" he asks giving Kim the cue to inform the rest of the team of what she knows.

"Five children have gone missing in the past two weeks. All out of a park, all male, ages six to nine. They seem to be random, they've went missing from three different parks, physical appearance is diverse, they come from different neighborhoods and socio-economic-statuses, so far there doesn't seem to be any connections between the boys.

"Halstead, Upton, go interview the latest victim's parents," Voight barks. The two detectives get up and head out to the cars.

"You can drive," Jay tells her. This statement only makes Hailey worry about her partner. On the drive to the home of the latest victim, Hailey keeps casting concerned glances at Jay, who doesn't seem to notice.

"You feeling alright?" Hailey asks him.

"Yeah, just tired."

Arriving at the home, they interview the parents, Jay letting Hailey do most of the talking. Not able to gather any new information from the parents, the pair head back to the district feeling defeated.

Once back at the district, they work on their computers trying to find any link or lead they can on the missing boys.

* * *

By eleven-thirty, Jay can feel the medicine starting to wear off. Feeling the familiar burn return to his throat and headache, along with a pressure now in his sinuses. He unconsciously lays his head down in his arms on top of his desk, falling asleep.

With the others busy doing their own work, Hailey looks over to her partner to find him asleep on his desk. Deciding that enough is enough, Hailey gets up, intending to make her partner go home. She puts a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling a fever through his shirt, not wanting to startle the ex-ranger. He comes back to her slowly, "Did we get something?"

"No, come on. Let's go to the breakroom for a minute."

Jay sways when he stands up, Hailey's reflexes are quick to grab a hold of him before he falls, she can feel the heat through his shirt. Steadying him, she let's go once she trusts he regained his balance. They go into the breakroom, Hailey forcing him to sit on the couch. "Jay, you should go home, it's obvious you're not feeling well."

"I can't. The kids-"

"We can manage. You aren't any use to us if you pass out on us."

"Okay," he reluctantly agrees.

"I'm going to call Will to come get you."

"He's probably sleeping, he has the night rotation this week."

"He's your brother, he won't mind. What's wrong, so I tell can him? The more he knows the less he'll panic about you."

"My throat's on fire, headache, tired."

"Okay, lay down while I call him." Jay doesn't need to be told twice, he lays down facing the back of the couch, shivering every now and then.

Dialing Will, she hopes the older Halstead brother answers. He picks up on the fourth ring. Having seen Hailey's name on the caller ID, Will is immediately awake, concerned for his brother when she calls him knowing Jay should be at work, "Is Jay okay?" is the first thing that Will sleepily gets out of his mouth.

"He's not hurt. But he's not feeling well, do you think you can pick him?"

"Yeah, I can be there in twenty. What's wrong?" he asks going into doctor mode.

"He said his throat is on fire, he has a headache and is tired. He's also running a fever and it looks like he has the chills too."

"Can you keep an eye on him until I get there?"

"Yeah, he's in the breakroom sleeping on the couch. Text me when you get here and I'll let you up."

"Okay, thanks. I'm on my way now."

* * *

Twenty minutes turns into almost an hour with lunch-time traffic. Will texts Hailey as soon as he is in the building. She lets him up into the intelligence bullpen, Will walks through to the break room to find his brother in a deep sleep.

"Will, be careful, when I woke him before he almost fell," Hailey tells him. He nods in acknowledgment, before going to wake his brother.

"Will?"

"Yeah, it's me. Let's get you out of here," helping Jay sit up

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" For what?"

"That you had to come here."

"Hey, I don't mind. It's not your fault you're not feeling well," Will says as he feels Jay's head for a fever, then his glands, his brother wincing at the touch. "Open your mouth," Will orders. Jay does what he's told and Will used the flashlight on his phone to look down Jay's throat, he can see white spots on Jay's tonsils and throat. "Do you feel nauseous?"

"No," he answers sounding congested. "Can we leave now. I just want to go home and sleep this off."

"Not yet. I'm taking you to Med. I think you have strep, you'll need antibiotics." Will helps Jay stand, while Hailey had gotten Jay's stuff for him once Will went to wake him.

"No. Not an emergency," Jay argues.

"Fine, we can go to a clinic, but you need antibiotics."

With his brother's help, Jay made it to his car, falling back to sleep on the way to the clinic.

* * *

Will gets Jay settled in a chair before getting the paperwork to sign him in. Jay's name is called after almost an hour. They go back with the nurse, "Family only," she stops Will, "What's your relation to him?"

"He's my brother," he answers annoyed.

The nurse gets a set of vitals on Jay, "101.3, how long have you been running a fever?" she asks after taking his temperature.

Jay shrugs his shoulders, "Jay answer her. Do you know when it started?" Will asked his brother

"Don't know. Hailey said I had one last night."

"Okay, the doctor should be in with you soon," she tells the brothers before leaving the room.

The doctor takes another half an hour before making an appearance. In this time, Jay had managed to fall asleep on the small exam bed. Seeing that the doctor was about to wake Jay, Will stopped him.

"Jay, its Will. Don't fight me," he tells his brother as he gently wakes him. "The doctor is here; can you sit up for him?" Jay does what he is told with the help of his brother.

"Open wide." Jay does what he is told again, just wanting to get home. "Looks like your brother was right about strep." He then presses on Jay's sinuses, causing him to yelp, "And a sinus infection, let me check your ears. Have you had any trouble with your equilibrium?"

"His partner at work said when she woke him, he almost fell," Will informs the doctor, knowing Jay is just about useless at this point.

"His ears look a little red right now. I'm going to do a rapid strep test to be sure, but it's almost certain he has strep. He's getting an antibiotic for the strep and sinus infection, so that will help prevent him from getting hit with an ear infection too if he doesn't already have one."

"Can't you tell?"

"No, they're redder than they should be, but they don't look infected. I'm not going to give him ear drops, but if he starts complaining about his ears hurting, then either bring him back in or make an appointment with his normal physician."

"Okay, thanks. He can't have penicillin, he's allergic with an anaphylactic reaction to it."

"Yes, I saw in his chart, has he had azithromycin before?"

"I think so."

"Okay, I'll put him on that. Ten days' worth, he needs to take them all, no stopping once he feels better.

"And he can go back to work after he's been on the antibiotic for twenty-four hours?"

"Yes, if he feels up to it. If he's still running a fever, he has to listen to his workplace's policy on that. And if he does end up with an ear infection, he needs to stay home until his balance is no longer affected."

"Okay, thanks." Will thanks the doctor before he leaves the room to get the test.

The doctor comes back into the room with the swab, "Okay, have you ever had a strep test before?" the doctor asks. Jay shakes his head _no_. "Okay, I'm going to get a swab of the back of your throat and we'll get the results in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, open up," Jay does as he is told. The doctor sticks the swab in the back of Jay's throat causing him to gag. "Almost done," the doctor tells him, pulling the swab out just as Jay leans over to throw up the small breakfast he ate.

"Sorry," he murmurs while leaning into Will who is supporting him.

"It's okay, you're not the first one," the doctor tells him, "The result should be in in about fifteen minutes, and in the meantime, I'll send someone to clean this up."

"Thanks," Will acknowledges, Jay laying back down.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor comes back in to find Jay asleep and Will playing on his phone. "It is strep, I'll send in for his prescription. He needs to take them for ten days, twice a day. Finish the prescription, no stopping after he feels better." Will thanks the doctor again and then wakes Jay up so they can leave.

Will gets Jay up and moving, leaving Jay in the car while he gets the prescription filled, he also gets applesauce and pudding for Jay to eat.

* * *

Arriving back at Jay's apartment, Will gets Jay settled, making him eat something before he lets Jay take the prescription. Looking at the time, Will figures he should call Voight, so his brother doesn't have to in the morning.

"Voight," Will hears through the phone.

"Sargent, it's Will Halstead."

"How's Jay? He left me short on people on an important case."

This statement makes Will angry, "He's going to be out again at least tomorrow too, possibly more. He has strep throat and a sinus infection, he's contagious until he's been on antibiotics for twenty-four hours."

Sensing he made the older brother angry, he tells him, "Tell him that he's not to be here until his fever is gone and he's on desk duty until he's a hundred percent," before quickly hanging up.

He can hear a whine coming from Jay's room, walking to his room the sound becomes louder. Walking into his room, Will can see Jay moving around moaning in his sleep. He goes to the bed and cautiously put his hand on Jay's head, rubbing his head like their mom used to do for them. Jay calms down, without punching Will by accident. Once Will is sure that Jay is okay, he goes back to the living room and falls asleep on the couch until either he has to get up for work or until Jay wakes up and needs something.

* * *

Will wakes up to the sound of his alarm going off. He sighs, not wanting to leave Jay by himself. Will walks into Jay's room to check on him before leaving. "Jay," Will gently wakes him.

"Wha'?" Jay asks.

"I need to go to work. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah. Sleep."

"Okay, call me if you need anything and I left a bottle of Pedialyte on your side table, try to drink half of it."

"'Kay," Jay answers already half asleep again. Will leaves, still unsure about leaving his brother.

* * *

Will is halfway through his shift at Med, checking his phone for the hundredth time, wanting to make sure he hasn't missed a call from Jay. Ethan Choi notices that Will seemed distracted throughout the night.

"Hey, everything okay, Will?" he asks.

"Yeah, I just want to make sure I don't miss a call from Jay."

"Is everything okay with him?"

"Yeah, he's not feeling well and I told him to call if he needed anything."

"He's probably just going to sleep it off."

"I guess you're right."

"Come on, we're halfway through. You'll be back to check on him soon."

* * *

Will gets back to Jay's apartment around eight in the morning. The first thing that he does is to check on Jay. Slowly opening the door, he sees his brother still asleep, and the bottle of Pedialyte untouched. He wakes Jay up to take another dose of the antibiotic, and to make him drink some.

By day three of the antibiotics, Jay is starting to feel better and by day five he is back at work. Still, not back to a hundred percent, Jay is stuck on desk duty trying to plug in the pieces of the newest case that intelligence has, and reeling over how he couldn't save the boys from the last case.

Hailey could tell that something was bothering Jay, so she decides to check in with him tonight.

* * *

Jay opens his door that night to someone knocking. Knowing it is not Will, since he has a key, he is surprised to see his partner there. "Hey," he answers while opening the door wider to let her in.

"I brought food," she tells him while bringing the bag to where he can see it.

"No pizza or beer?" he asks.

"No, you can't have beer while on antibiotics, and I didn't know if your throat was up for pizza."

"How did you know I was on antibiotics?"

"When I didn't hear from you, I called Will to make sure you were okay. He told me that you had strep and a sinus infection and were on antibiotics. I figured sandwiches were a safe choice."

"Okay, I was watching a Hawks game if you want to?" Hailey follows Jay to the couch, food in hand.

"Do you want to tell me what was bothering you today?" Hailey asks him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jay deflects.

"Don't lie to me. We've been partners for a couple years now, I know when something is bothering you."

"It's the case."

"This case?"

"No, the one with the kids."

"Jay, that's not your fault. You weren't even there for most of it."

"I know, and I should have been. Maybe I could have done something-" Jay starts.

"No," Hailey cuts him off. "You were sick, you still are. Will said that you were also borderline with an ear infection along with the strep and sinus infection. You needed the rest."

"I just… those kids, they had so much ahead of them."

"I know, Jay. But he can't do it to anymore, he's going to spend life in jail, with no parole."

The two sit in silence for the final minutes of the game, before Hailey decides that she should leave.

"Text me when you get home," Jay says through a yawn. "Just so I know you got home safe."

"Okay," Hailey agrees, knowing that he is doing it because he cares. "But you're probably going to be asleep before I get home."

Hailey leaves and Jay locks the door behind her. Jay does fall asleep shortly after, only to wake up to Hailey's text that she got home safe. Reading her text, Jay is happy that she listened to him, he sends a quick response before going back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 100.7= 38.2  
> 101.3= 38.5


	20. T is for Thai Takeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jay tries to power through food poisoning from his takeout ends with him being cared for by his partner and brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: July 22, 2020

"Jay, are you okay?" Hailey asks her partner when she notices how quiet her partner is.

"Fine," he answers.

"Are you sure? You look a bit pale," Hailey comments as she goes to reach his forehead.

"Yeah, just a headache," he responds while dodging out of her reach. "Come on, we should check out the inside," Jay tells her, wanting to divert her attention away from himself.

Hailey follows her partner into the home, where they are met with a ripe smell. Looking around, the two detectives find the bodies of three individuals. "We should make sure that there are no more victims," Jay states while breathing deeply.

Hailey notices her partner's discomfort, "Jay, are you sure you're okay?"

Jay goes to answer but a look of panic appears on his face before covering his mouth with his hand and running outside. Hailey follows to find Jay doubled over gagging. "You're okay," she comforts while rubbing his back. Eventually, Jay is able to get control over his stomach, "I have some mint gum in the car, do you want some?" She asks him. Jay nods and she goes to retrieve the requested item and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Jay mumbles as he is handed the offered items.

"What's going on? You can normally handle bodies pretty good," Hailey comments.

"Um, I don't think last night's dinner is sitting right."

"What'd you have?"

"Thai," Jay answers.

"From that new place?"

"No, the place we always go."

"That's weird, it's usually good. Do you want to go home?"

"No, I think I'm good now," Jay decides.

"Okay, but if you change your mind let me know. Come on, I'm driving," Hailey informs him.

"I can drive," Jay argues.

"No. You're shaking, drink the water. Do you want me to stop at 7-Eleven? I can run in and get you a Gatorade," Hailey offers.

"No, the gum is helping."

"Okay, let me know if I need to pull over."

Jay makes a non-committal noise before Hailey starts the truck.

* * *

"Jay, we're here," Hailey tells him while rubbing his arm to wake him.

"Okay," he answers.

"You sure you don't want me to take you home?" Hailey checks.

"I'm fine. The smell just got to me."

"Okay. Come one, hopefully, we can figure out this case soon."

Jay and Hailey walk into the district making their way into the intelligence bullpen where Voight is putting his up pictures on the whiteboard.

"Alright, we got three dead bodies and so far no leads on what happened," Voight informs the unit of what their newest case is.

Adam steps up to the whiteboard to inform the rest of the team of what he knows. While Adam is talking, Hailey is trying to listen while also keeping an eye on her stubborn partner, who seems to have spaced out. Hailey decided to give Jay a pass for now but to keep a close eye on him.

As the day goes on, Jay gives just enough attention to not call too much suspicion on himself. Besides Hailey, the team just believes he is in a mood or got into an argument with Will.

* * *

When lunch comes around, Adam and Kim are voted to go on the lunch run. Everyone gives the two their orders, and the officers go on their way. Hailey got something plain, hoping she can get Jay to eat part of hers as he didn't get anything, reasoning that he didn't want to be distracted by food.

Once the two leaves, Hailey pulls Jay into the break wanting to talk to him without Kevin or Vanessa overhearing them.

"Are you okay? You look pale."

"Fine."

"What's the real reason you didn't get lunch?" Jay raises an eyebrow as if asking what she is talking about. "I'm not falling for the act. Do you feel like you're going to be sick?"

"I'm still nauseous, but I don't feel like I'm going to puke. Can we stop talking about that?" Jay asks, breathing deeply trying to calm his stomach.

Hailey nods. "You know I'm just trying to look out for you?" she asks while cupping his face. "You feel warm."

"I know and its food poisoning, not a stomach virus. I'm not contagious."

"You look miserable," Hailey tells him.

Before Jay can respond, Atwater's voice can be heard telling them that Kim and Adam are back with the food. The two detectives go back into the bullpen to see Kim distributing the food.

"Jay, are you okay? You're looking a bit green," Kim asks as he sits on Hailey's desk.

"I'm fine," he answers even though the smell of the food has his stomach churning.

Adam opens his tuna sandwich, and the smell hits Jay like a ton of bricks. He places a hand in front of his mouth, closes his eyes, and tries to breathe through the nausea.

"Jay?" Hailey questions while rubbing his leg.

He ignores her.

"Jay," she says more assertively. "Are you going to be sick?"

He shakes his head.

Adam finds this a good time to mess with the detective. The dense officer starts making gagging noises to annoy the detective.

Hearing Adam, Jay heaves, eyes popping open. "Jay, trash," Hailey thrust her trash can from under her desk under his chin just in time for him to vomit. Hailey holds the thankfully lined trash can in one hand while she rubs his back with the other while Kim yells at Adam.

After a few more waves of nausea, Jay groans. "Think you're done?" Hailey asks.

Jay nods, "Sorry."

"Not your fault. I'm going to take care of the trash and then I'll take you home."

"No, I made the mess."

"Jay," Kim calls. "Adam will take care of it," she volunteers him.

"Hey!"

"This is your fault."

"Thanks," Hailey directs at Kim as she gently pulls on Jay to leave.

Walking down the steps, Hailey asks, "Are you going to be okay in the car?"

Jay just shrugs his shoulders, wrapping an arm around his stomach.

"Okay, I'm going to get a bag for you," Hailey tells him before going to the front desk.

"What do you need, Goldilocks?" Platts asks.

"Do you have a bag?" Hailey asks looking over to her partner.

Platt follows Hailey to see a green Jay, reaching underneath the desk Platt grabs a trash bag from the roll. "Get him out of here before he infects the whole district," Platt orders while handing her the bag.

"Thanks, Sarge."

Hailey walks back over to Jay, who looks like he is trying very hard not to be sick again. "Come on, let's get you home," Hailey says as she wraps an arm around his waist.

"What about my truck?" Jay asks as they get into her car.

"I'll pick you up when you're feeling better," she answers while handing him the bag.

Jay groans as his stomach cramps up and he curls up in the passenger seat as much as his tall frame will allow. Hailey makes sure that the air is on and pointed at Jay hoping it will help before pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

The ride is silent other than Jay's occasional moans. Halfway through the ride, Jay makes use of the bag given to him. Hailey reaches over to rub his back, hoping for his sake that he is finished soon.

"Ugh, can you drop me off at Will's?" he asks when finished.

"Isn't he working?" Hailey questions.

"I have a key."

"We left your keys in your desk," she reminds him, causing Jay to groan. "You feel that bad?" Hailey questions, knowing he hates bothering or making people, especially his brother, worry.

Jay's only response is to groan.

"Do you just want Will or do you need to go to a hospital?"

"No hospital."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Hailey asks as they pull up to his building.

"No, you should go back to work."

"Okay, let's get you inside." Hailey takes the bag from Jay and throws it in a nearby trashcan.

The two slowly make their way to his apartment, where Hailey uses her key to open the door. Once the door is open, Jay rushes to the bathroom where Hailey can hear him gagging. Hailey goes to his refrigerator to get him a bottle of water.

"Jay, can I come in?" Hailey asks while knocking on the door. Hearing a groan, Hailey takes it as a yes. "Here," she hands him the bottle. "You're losing too many fluids. What time does Will get off? I'll call to let him know," Hailey offers.

"Two."

"Okay, I'm going to go back to work. Text me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Hailey."

* * *

Jay wakes up sometime later to his phone ringing, "'Lo," he answers sitting up, a nice tile impression indented on his face.

"Jay? Are you okay? You sound off," Will responds.

"Will?"

"Yeah, it's me. What's wrong?"

"Food poisoning. Didn't Hailey call?"

"No, she didn't. I was going to see if you wanted to meet for a late lunch, but I guess I have my answer."

"Please don't mention food."

"Do you want me to come over?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm on my way over now, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

By the time Will gets to Jay's apartment twenty minutes later, Jay has managed to throw up three more times.

Will lets himself in to find Jay still on the bathroom floor. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Sick."

Will looks around and notices the still full water bottle, "I have some things at my place. Do you want to go there or do you want me to see if Hailey can pick some things up?"

Jay thinks for a second before answering, "Your place. I don't want to bother Hailey."

"Okay, I'm going to get you a bowl, then we'll go."

Will gets the wanted item before going to collect his brother. After a couple of minutes, Will is able to get Jay up and ready for the car ride.

* * *

In the short ride to Will's apartment, Jay had three episodes of dry heaving that only brought up bile.

"Bathroom or bed?" Will asks as he is helping Jay into his apartment.

"Bed."

"Okay," Will walks Jay into the spare room, which is basically Jay's, and helps his brother get settled. "I'm going to get you some Pedialyte," Will tells him as he sets the now clean bowl on the side table.

"No, it's going to make me sick again."

"Jay, you need to drink. You're burning up- between the fever and your stomach you're dehydrated. I don't want to take you to Med for dehydration."

Jay gives in, not wanting an IV. Will goes to his kitchen to grab the desired drink. "Here, drink all of this," Will hands Jay a cup.

Jay drinks under his brother's watchful eye. "I'm going to sleep for a couple of hours, do you need anything first?"

"No. Thanks, Will."

"Okay, try to sleep and call me if you need anything. If you can keep the Pedialyte down I want to try to get something solid into you."

"I'm not hungry," Jay answers as Kohl climbs up with him.

"If you can hold two pieces of toast for a couple of hours, I will make you mom's soup," Will promises.

"Okay. Thanks, Will."

Will runs his hand through Jay's hair before retreating to his own room. Jay falls into a light sleep with Kohl curled into him.

* * *

Will wakes up at seven o'clock to his phone ringing, "Hello," he answers.

"Will is Jay with you?" Hailey asks.

"Yeah, I picked him up after my shift. Why?"

"I came to check on him and he wasn't at his place. His truck is still at work, so he couldn't have driven anywhere."

"He's fine- I mean he's safe. What happened? He mentioned something about how you were supposed to call me?"

"I was going to call when you got off work to let you know what was going on, but we caught a lead in our case and it slipped my mind."

"What happened?"

"He thinks it was the Thai takeout he had last night. There were some bodies that got to him this morning and then Adam didn't help him at lunch. I brought him home, but he wanted you. I think he's feeling pretty bad if he's admitting that."

"He's just not the best when it comes to being sick."

"Let me know if he needs a ride to work tomorrow."

"Depending on how he's feeling, I might force him to take a sick day tomorrow."

"Okay, let me know if you guys need anything," Hailey tells Will before they say their good-byes.

After hanging up, Will walks into Jay's room to find him asleep cuddled with Kohl. Not wanting to disturb him, but also wanting to get some food into him, Will carefully wakes his brother.

"Hey, it looks like you kept the Pedialyte down," Will comments.

"What time is it?"

"Just after seven. How you feeling?"

"I'm not going to puke in the immediate future."

"Okay, do you think you can eat some toast?"

"I don't know."

"Can you try"

"Okay," Jay goes to get up but sways some.

"You're okay," Will grabs him to keep Jay steady. "You're probably dehydrated. I want you to drink some more Pedialyte."

Will guides Jay out to the couch where he gets his brother settled. "Bowl is right here," Will tells Jay motioning to the coffee table. Kohl jumps up on the couch and curls around Jay's legs before Will goes into the kitchen to get the toast.

When Will brings the toast out to Jay, he starts nibbling on it under his brother's watchful eye. After ten minutes, Jay has managed to eat the two pieces and Will is handing him another glass full of Pedialyte.

Will puts on _Animal Planet_ , knowing that the documentaries are calming to Jay. Finishing the drink, Jay leans his head against Will and closes his eyes. "Jay, lay down," Will comments.

"I'm afraid I'll puke if I do."

"Okay, just relax."

Jay falls asleep against Will in less than ten minutes. Noticing this, Will carefully moves Jay so he is laying down and adjusts the blanket on him.

* * *

Jay sleeps for an hour before he starts moving in his sleep, burying his head deeper into his brother's leg.

"Jay, what's wrong?" Will questions while rubbing his back.

Jay just shakes his head, burying it further into Will's lap.

"Are you going to be sick?"

Jay nods into Will's leg.

"Okay, sit up," Will helps move Jay into a sitting position and sitting the bowl onto his lap. Jay groans. "It's okay, just breath," Will encourages as he continues to rub his back.

Jay gags a few times before bringing up the Pedialyte and undigested toast. "Ugh, sorry," Jay apologizes once he finishes.

"It's okay. Do you think you're done?"

"For now." Will goes to get up with the bowl, "No, I can get that."

"I don't mind. I've had to clean worse at work," Will answers before going to the bathroom to clean the bowl.

"I'm going to start on mom's soup," Will tells Jay when he brings the now clean bowl back.

"Not hungry."

"I know, but maybe you can try in a couple of hours."

"Okay, can I go back to sleep now?"

"Sure, do you want to go back to bed?"

"Can I stay here?"

"Yeah."

* * *

As Will works on making the soup, it is quiet other than the television playing the documentary. Will keeps an eye on Jay as he makes the soup, hoping that Jay can manage to keep some food down before going to bed for the night. The older Halstead also wonders how much trouble he's going to have in the morning convincing Jay to take a sick day.

* * *

Just as he is finishing the soup, Will can hear Jay moving around on the couch.

"Will," Jay croaks as he slowly sits up.

"Yeah?"

"Can I have something to drink?"

"Yeah," Will answers while going to the fridge to get more of the rehydrating drink. "How're you feeling?" he asks as he brings the drink to Jay.

"A little better. I think the nausea is finally going away. The soup actually smells good."

"Do you want some?"

"I don't know. I don't want to throw up again."

"How about a little, it always made you feel better growing up."

"Okay," Jay agrees.

Will is happy that Jay is willing to try to eat something. He grabs two bows and fills one up and the other half-way. "Try to eat all of it," Will tells Jay as he hands him the bowl.

"Will."

"It's half a serving. You need to eat."

Jay slowly eats his soup, "This is good."

"Did you think it was going to be bad?"

"I didn't think it would taste so much like mom's," Jay whispered.

"Well, she did teach me how to make it and a few other things."

"Why did she teach you?"

"Because dad wasn't going to feed us."

Jay gets quiet as he finishes his soup. "Are you feeling okay?" Will asks.

"Yeah, just tired."

"Okay, go to bed, then," Will suggest while feeling his forehead. "You still feel warm."

Jay does as he is told, taking the vomit bowl back with him. Once he is sure that Jay is settled, Will starts cleaning up from his mess.

* * *

The next morning, Will wakes up to find Jay still asleep with Kohl next to him. Will doesn't recall hearing Jay get up through the night, so he's hoping that Jay is past the vomiting stage. Jay stirs, feeling eyes on him, "Will?"

"It's just me. How are you feeling?"

"Better, just tired. What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty."

"Shit! I'm going to be late."

"Hey, Jay, I really think you should take the day off. You're still not one hundred percent."

"I don't want to bother anymore and you can't stay and watch me- you have work."

"You weren't bothering me. And I have the night shift today."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Sleep does sound good."

"Don't forget to call in."

"I think if I went in, I would have gotten sent home."

"Jay?"

"I might have puked in the bullpen yesterday," Jay answers before resting his. Head back on the pillow.


	21. U is for Upper Respiratory Infection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay gets the cold from Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post Season 7  
> Completed: Mar. 31, 2020  
> DISCLAIMER: Was written before COVID-19 was classified as a pandemic.

"Jay, is everything alright?" Hailey asks her partner and boyfriend.

"Yeah, why?" Jay responds.

"You never showed up last night. Everyone was wondering where you were. I just want to make sure that nothing got triggered during our last case," Hailey tells him quietly.

"No, nothing was triggered. The case just gave me a headache, so I went home and crashed early."

Hearing this, Hailey takes a good look at Jay, noting that he does look tired. "Did you sleep okay?" she questions.

"Wasn't terrible."

"How's your head now? Do you want Advil?"

Jay doesn't answer right away, giving Hailey the answer she needed. She pulls the bottle out of her desk and hands him two pills. "Thanks," he mutters.

* * *

Their day is busy chasing leads on a triple homicide. Voight sends the two detectives to talk with the roommate of the second victim.

"You want to drive?" Jay asks.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hailey responds with her own question, knowing that he hates being in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, I think the Advil is wearing off."

"I can go back and get you more before we leave," Hailey offers.

"No, I'm okay," Jay insists.

* * *

The drive to the victim's home should be short but was made longer due to the city traffic. When they arrive at the apartment complex, they easily find their way to the correct apartment.

Jay takes the lead of asking the roommate questions. Hailey notices that while Jay is asking the questions, he is clearing his throat quite a lot.

Getting some answers out of the roommate, the two leave to see what the others got from the roommates of the other two victims.

Jay once again takes the passenger seat.

The ride back to the precinct was quiet. Hailey periodically looking over to the passenger seat to find Jay either spacing out or snapping his attention back when he realized he was spacing. "Jay, close your eyes, I'll wake you when we're back at the district."

Jay opens his mouth to argue but stops when Hailey gives him a look while at a stop sign. Jay sighs, reclining the seat some and closes his eyes.

Hailey tries to make the rest of the ride as smooth as she can, so she doesn't wake the light sleeper.

Jay stirs when she parks the car at the district, "Jay, we're here," she tells him.

"Do you think the others got anything?" he yawns as they get out of the car.

"Hopefully they got more than us," Hailey answers as the two walk side-by-side into the district. Hailey enters her code to let them into the intelligence bullpen, to find that they are the last to arrive back.

The team discusses their finding trying to find a common denominator between their victims or if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

* * *

After hours of looking at evidence and different angles, Jay comes up with a theory. "This might be a stretch, but all three victims were in the foster system growing up. And they all went through the Lawson house at some point."

"Good eye, Jay," Voight tells him. "Call it a night and get back here early tomorrow," Voight tells them as he looks at the clock and realizes how late it is.

While everyone is packing up, Ruzek is unsuccessfully trying to convince them to join him at Molly's.

On the way out to the cars, Hailey pulls Jay along to her car, "Come on, I don't trust you driving right now."

"I'm fine," Jay yawns.

"No, you look like you're going to fall asleep standing up," Hailey argues.

Jay knows this is a losing battle, so he gets into her car without an argument. Jay closes his eyes until he hears Hailey ask what he wanted for dinner, "You pick, I'm not hungry."

"Are you feeling okay?" she questions

"I'm fine. Just tired," he tells her, hoping that she will believe him.

"Okay," she answers not completely believing him, but also not wanting to start a fight.

Not five minutes after she pulls out of the parking lot, does she look over at Jay and sees that he's fallen asleep, leaning against the door.

Deciding on Chinese Hailey pulls up to their favorite takeout place. Seeing that he's still out, she places a hand on his forehead and moves to his cheek. He doesn't feel normal, nor does he feel warm. She makes a mental note to keep an eye on his temperature. Hailey carefully gets out of the car as to not wake him.

Inside she orders her usual and gets Jay wonton soup hoping that it would be easy on his throat, thinking back to how he kept clearing his throat throughout the day.

Once she has their food, she sees that he's still sleeping when she gets back to the car. Carefully she puts the food in the backseat and gets back into the car, trying not to wake him. The ride back to his apartment is silent.

* * *

At the parking garage of his apartment complex, Hailey goes to gently shake Jay awake, "Jay, wake up babe."

"Mmh, we're home?" Jay mumbled, noticing they were in the parking garage.

"Yeah, you fell asleep almost as soon as we were out of the parking lot at the district. I got us Chinese. I know you said you weren't hungry, but I got you some soup. Do you think you can try to eat some?" Hailey asks while caressing his face. Jay just makes a noncommittal noise. "Come on, let's just get upstairs, okay?"

The two go up to his apartment, Hailey carrying their food.

Once in his apartment Hailey pushes Jay to the couch, telling him that she will be out with their food in a minute.

Hailey goes into the kitchen to get their food and returns a minute later. They eat their dinner while watching the highlights of the Blackhawks game.

When they are finished, Hailey puts the plates in the sink before returning to Jay on the couch. He is now laying down watching the game.

Hailey moves him so his head is resting on her lap. She puts her hand under the bottom of his shirt, rubbing his back.

"Jay?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling okay? You sound like you have a sore throat," Hailey comments concerned.

"I'm just tired and the case is giving me a headache."

"Why don't you go to bed?" Hailey suggests.

"Are you coming too?" He asks.

"In a minute, I'm just going to clean up the dishes."

"Okay." Jay goes into the bathroom to wash up before changing into sweats and a t-shirt and climbing into bed.

* * *

Hailey enters the bedroom a half an hour later expecting to see a sleeping Jay. She is surprised when she hears a sleepy "Hail."

"Ssh. Go back to sleep," she tells him while climbing into bed. With Jay on his back, Hailey cuddles into his side. Jay wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Jay drifts to sleep quickly and Hailey follows soon after.

* * *

Hailey wakes up to the sun coming into his room the next morning still in Jay's arms. Looking up, she expects to see his green eyes watching her, as he is usually awake before her. She is surprised to see that he is still sound asleep, breathing softly.

Hailey carefully gets out of bed, trying not to disturb the sleeping body next to her. She goes into the kitchen to start the coffee maker before she goes to take a shower. After a quick shower, Hailey goes back to the kitchen and pours her first cup of coffee of the day.

As she is halfway through her coffee, she hears Jay's alarm going off. After a moment, she sees him making his way into the kitchen, still wearing the clothes that he slept in. "Morning, sleepyhead," she teases.

"Morning," he replies as he kisses her, his voice rough with sleep.

Looking Jay over as he grabs his own cup of coffee, she notices that he looks run down. When he turns back to her, she cups his face in her hand, "Are you feeling alright, Jay?" she asks, moving her hand to see if he has a fever. She continues, "You're usually up before me and you still look tired."

"I'm fine," Jay starts, voice cracking.

"Are you sure? You feel a little warm, but I can't tell if it's a fever. Do you have a thermometer?"

"No, and it's probably because I just woke up," Jay defends before going to his room to change. "Come on, we need to go or we're going to be late."

Hailey sighs and follows Jay out of his apartment

* * *

Arriving to the intelligence bullpen, Hailey and Jay see that the only other person missing is Kim.

When Kim rushes in less than three minutes later, Voight starts handing out assignments to his team. Since Jay was the one who came up with the theory, he and Hailey were stuck in the bullpen looking for any more connections and possible targets.

Hailey looks up to see Jay squinting at his computer. Hailey hands Jay two Advil, with the feeling that he is getting sick, but doesn't want to tell her.

Jay looks at her, thanking her with his eyes. His eyes are bright green and his cheeks are rosy, both a sure sign of the low-grade fever he's most likely running.

Luckily for Jay, the team is able to catch the killer and Voight has them spend the rest of the day filling out the paperwork.

Jay is showing signs that the Advil has worn off, his eyes now have a semi-glazed look, cheeks are still rosy, and he now has a thin layer of sweat across his forehead.

"Jay," Hailey whispers. "Go lay down, I'll do your paperwork."

Hailey is surprised when Jay agrees and goes into the breakroom to lay on the couch.

"Is Jay okay?" Vanessa asks when she notices the exchange.

"I think he's getting sick- not that he'd admit it," Hailey answers giving Vanessa a look meaning not to say anything to anyone else.

The team minus Jay works on the reports and manages to finish them fairly early. Voight lets them leave early, around six, since another case hasn't come in. "Be ready for tomorrow," Voight reminds them of the picnic between the first responders.

Hailey goes into the breakroom to wake Jay up. "You look like your fever is down," Hailey comments when he wakes up.

"I didn't have a fever," Jay argues, the congestion now clear in his voice.

"Your eyes were glazed, your cheeks were red, you were sweating, and now you sound congested. Do you have another explanation?" Hailey asks.

"It was hot in here," Jay defends weakly.

"Okay, let's just get out of here. This was a weird case."

The two walk out to the bullpen where the rest of the team is and Adam is being Adam.

"Anyone up for Molly's?" Ruzek questions. "This was a weird case; I need a drink."

The other officers of the team agree, but Hailey knows that the day is catching up with Jay. "I think Jay and I are going to pass," Hailey answers for the two of them.

"Sorry, Ruze," Jay apologizes.

"You two are like an old married couple," he complains as he follows the others out of the bullpen.

* * *

"What's up with Halstead?" Adam asks when the others grab seats at the table he grabbed.

"He's seemed out of it for a couple of days, don't you think?" Vanessa comments, wanting to see if anyone else noticed

"Maybe the case got to him?" Kevin guesses.

"He could be getting sick, you know his immune system isn't great," Kim replies.

"I still don't know if I believe that," Adam says.

"Adam!" Kim yells. "You've worked with him for how long? You know he gets sick a lot."

* * *

Hailey is surprised when Jay follows her to her car and she doesn't have to drag him. When settled in their respective seats, she turns to him, "How are you feeling? I think you're getting a cold."

"My head feels like a cotton ball," Jay admits.

"Okay, do you have any medicine at your place?" Hailey asks placing her hand on his cheek.

"Tylenol," Jay answers.

"Do you want me to stop on the way home to get some cold meds?" Hailey offers.

"No, I just want to go home."

"Okay, what about something to eat?"

"Not hungry."

"Jay, are you just not hungry, or is your stomach upset?" Hailey questions remembering that he wasn't hungry the previous night either and he skipped breakfast and worked through lunch.

"Just not hungry. Nothing tastes right."

"I'm sorry, let's get you home."

The ride is quiet and short. Once at Jay's building, the two make their way into his apartment and Hailey directs him to the couch again before going into the kitchen.

"Not hungry," Jay tells her.

"You haven't eaten today; you need something in your system. I'll make you something light," she promises. Jay falls asleep while she busies herself in his kitchen.

Hailey wakes him up when she is done fifteen minutes later, "'m sleeping," he groggily tells her.

"Jay, you need to eat. You can go back to sleep after," she tells him. When she gets him awake, she hands him a bowl and a plate, "Grilled cheese and tomato soup." Hailey has an identical dinner.

They eat in silence until Jay speaks, playing with his soup. "I'm sorry."

Hailey's brow furrows in confusion, "For what?" she asks softly.

"You're being nice and I'm just being an ass to you."

"Jay, it's okay to be a little grumpy when you don't feel well."

"I'm just used to dealing with things on my own."

"I know, but let me take care of you."

"It's just hard. No one has since I was a kid," Jay tells her, implying that the last person to do so was his mom.

"I know," she tells him while rubbing his back. "But I'm not going anywhere. Are you full?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be, I'm just glad you ate some. Do you want to lay here or go to bed?"

"Can we stay out here for a little longer?" Jay asks.

"Sure, I'm going to clean up the dishes. I'll be right back," Hailey promises.

Jay lays down on the couch while Hailey cleans up the kitchen. When she returns to Jay, she finds him shivering on the couch. Going to the closet, she grabs a blanket to throw over him. After making sure he is covered with the blanket, Hailey moves his head so he is resting on her lap. "How are you feeling? Honestly?" Hailey asks.

"Like I have the cold from Hell."

"Do you want me to go out and get some cold meds?"

"No, it's late. I'm fine."

"Jay, you would go for me," Hailey argues.

"No, Hailey. Please, I feel better laying with you."

"Okay, but I'm going to get you some tomorrow." Hailey decides.

Hailey turns on the television to an old episode of _Supernatural_ , making sure the volume is low enough not to bother Jay.

"Hailey?" Jay asks.

"Yeah, babe?" Hailey answers looking to him.

"Never mind," Jay changes his mind, embarrassed.

"No. What is it?" she pushes.

"It's stupid."

"I promise, I won't think it's stupid," Hailey assures him while rubbing his back, hoping to coax it out of him.

"Can you keep doing that? It feels good," Jay whispers afraid of her reaction.

"Jay, that's not stupid. Don't be afraid to asks that, okay?"

Jay nods his head.

Hailey keeps rubbing Jay's back as she watches the rest of the show. The soothing motion puts Jay to sleep, by the time the first commercial comes on. Hailey looks down to find Jay asleep, his congested breathing evened out.

Hailey decides to let Jay sleep until the episode was before waking him to make him go to bed.

"Are you coming to bed too?" he asks when she wakes him an hour later.

"I am. Go take some Tylenol, you feel warm. I'll be in in a little bit," Hailey promises.

Jay listens to Hailey and by the time he is climbing into his bed, Hailey steps into his room. Hailey climbs into bed with him and he rests his head on her stomach. "Do you still feel like meeting with everyone tomorrow?" Hailey asks, referring to the first responders' picnic where they will be competing against each other, while she rubs his back.

"No, but I want to."

"We can play it by ear if you want." Hailey offers.

"No, I'll take some more Tylenol before going. We can't leave them short, don't want the firehouse to have bragging rights for a year," Jay tells her sleepily.

"Okay, go to sleep. Hopefully, you'll feel a little better in the morning," Hailey answers.

Jay falls into a restless sleep and Hailey watches him for a few minutes before falling asleep herself.

* * *

When Hailey wakes up, it's still dark in the room. Looking around, Hailey tries to figure out what woke her. Hailey figures it out when she hears coughing coming from the other person in bed. Hailey sits up and rubs his back trying to help him.

When that doesn't help, she gets up and goes to grab a glass of water for him. "Here, small sips," she instructs him.

Jay takes a drink which helps some, "Thanks," Jay sighs when he catches his breath.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go out and get something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Okay, try to go back to sleep," Hailey tells him while pulling him back to bed.

"No, I think I should sleep on the couch. I don't want to get you sick."

"No, I'm not kicking you out of your bed. You're sick, you shouldn't be sleeping on the couch. And you're contagious before you have symptoms. Come on, relax, and go back to sleep." Hailey pulls him to her and he rests his head on her. Exhausted, Jay falls back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to address that this was written before COVID-19. This is not a COVID-19 situation, it is just the cold from hell. And, actually about half of this chapter is taken from an unpublished Lindstead fic that I had on my computer. I think the original story that I wrote with Lindsay was from two years ago (I can't find the file now).


	22. V is for Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The annual fundraiser, a sick Jay, and a competitive Adam equals a grumpy Jay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post Season 7; Follows "U"; AU Pat Halstead is still alive  
> Completed: July 28, 2020  
> Disclaimer: Idea started before COVID-19

Hailey wakes up the next morning to Jay's congested snoring. She takes this as an opportunity to get a good look at Jay. In his sleep, he looks younger, like he doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Checking her phone, Hailey sees that it is only seven-thirty and decides to stay put knowing Jay is a light sleeper and needs the rest, having been up several times through the night. They lay there until Jay finally stirs at eight fifty

Jay groans.

"Morning," Hailey whispers. "How are you feeling?"

Jay sneezes in reply.

"That good?"

"'m fined."

"Do you want to skip the picnic today?"

"Doh. What tibe do we habe to leabe?"

"We have about an hour if we go straight to the park and forty minutes if we stop at a pharmacy to get you some meds first."

"Cad we get da meds on da way back?"

"Jay?"

"Want to stay here for as long as possible."

Hailey goes to feel his forehead, "You feel warm. I think you should take something."

"I run high normally," Jay tells her.

"Fine, but you need to eat."

"Doh, my throat hurts."

"Eggs," Hailey tells him while getting out of bed.

Jay follows her and sits down at the counter. Hailey makes her way around his kitchen as she cooks them breakfast.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Hailey asks an hour later.

"Yeah, do you know what ebents we're signed up for?" Jay responds before blowing his nose in a paper towel.

"Jay, have you been listening? That's all Adam's been talking about for weeks."

"I tend to zone out when he talks for long periods of time."

"Jay!" Hailey playfully slaps his arm.

"Hey, you cad'd hit a sick person," he jokes.

"Come on, I'll fill you in on the way there."

The two get into Hailey's car and start the drive to the park to meet up with the rest of the team.

* * *

"Finally, what took you so long?" Adam asks when the two detectives arrive at the designated meeting spot by a bench.

"Sorry, slow morning," Hailey answers while Jay sneezes a few times.

"Are you okay, Jay?" Kim asks.

"Yeah," he sniffles.

"You all ready?" Adam asks. "Softball is first. We need to decide who is what position."

While the rest of the team is busy arguing about who is where on the field, Jay sits down on the bench and leans into Hailey's side while she runs her hand through his hair.

"Okay, so Jay is pitchi-" Adam starts.

Jay interrupts by sneezing into his arm three times.

"Gesundheit," Kim says while Hailey rubs his arm.

"Change of plans, Jay you're outfield. Do you think you can focus enough for that?"

"Adam!" Kim yells while Jay just nods.

While Adam is placing the rest of the team, Hailey's focus is on Jay. "Are you sure you want to stay?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, but the others will understand."

"I'be fined."

"Hailey, were you listening? You're at third base," Adam tells the blonde detective.

"I got it."

"Good. So, we have half an hour before our game– we should strategize," Adam announces.

Hailey can feel Jay lean into her again, "What is there to strategize? We hit a ball and run- this isn't football where there are plays," she reminds him while discreetly rubbing Jay's back.

"Fine, I guess we can relax until then," Adam concedes.

* * *

The group moves closer to the field that they will be on and lay down their blankets so they can sit down. The girls and Jay take a spot on the blankets while Adam and Kevin start throwing to each other.

Jay lays down and rests his head on Hailey's thigh, too miserable to care about what the others think. Feeling his head in her lap, Hailey starts running her hand through his hair, his congested breathing evens out fast.

"Is he okay?" Kim asks concerned.

"Yeah, he just has a bad cold. It's making him feel pretty miserable," Hailey answers.

"He knows he didn't have to come, right?"

"I told him that, but he didn't want to leave you short on people. And he didn't want to lose to the fire department."

"Sounds about right."

The girls continue to talk until Adam and Kevin come over to get them as their game is about to start. With that knowledge, Hailey gently wakes Jay up as the others get ready for their game.

"Jay, time to wake up," she tries again after he mumbles incoherently.

"'kay," he answers sleepily while shifting on her lap.

"Feeling any better?"

"I just want to sleep."

"I'll get you some meds before we go home," Hailey promises as she helps him up.

"We're waiting for you two," Adam tells them as they make their way to the field.

* * *

The intelligence unit is playing against the second shift of Firehouse 51. It is a close game that comes down to the last out. Putting Jay in the outfield may not have been the best idea as a lot of balls are making it to the outfield and running is causing Jay's headache to worsen.

In the end, intelligence beats Firehouse 51 by one run, getting Severide and Gallo out at first and second on a double play.

The team makes their way back to the blankets as they wait for their next game which is half an hour after the softball game after theirs ends.

"We could have crushed them if Jay was on his game," Adam complains.

Before Hailey can say anything, Kim speaks up, "Come on, Adam. We're going for a walk," she tells him wanting to get space between him and the sick detective, dragging him away by his arm.

Hailey settles on the ground before helping Jay find a comfortable spot on her so he can rest some.

Soon after Jay falls asleep, Will and Natalie walk over to the group. "He okay?" Will asks when he sees his baby brother sleeping.

"He's not feeling great."

"What's wrong?" Natalie asks.

"Bad cold. Shouldn't you be playing?" Hailey asks the couple.

"No, this is the night shift. Our game is later."

"Do you think you can stay with him for a bit? I want to run and get him some meds– we were going to stop on the way, by he wanted to leave as late as possible and I think he has a little fever, but he keeps telling me that he runs high," Hailey asks.

"He runs low," Will tells her.

"What?"

"He normally runs around 97, give or take."

Natalie reaches to feel his head, "He's at 100 at least," she tells the other two.

"How do you do that?" Hailey asks.

"She's a mom and doctor," Will answers.

Hailey nods, "So can you wait with him?"

"I can run and get what you need," Will offers. "He'd probably rather you stay with him. Is there anything else he needs?"

"A thermometer and tissues? Maybe something soft for him to eat– I doubt he'll want the hotdogs or burgers we have here," Hailey adds.

"Okay, I'll be back soon."

After Will leaves, Natalie turns to Hailey, "So, I guess Jay didn't ask you yet?"

"Ask me what?"

"Pat is coming over for dinner in two weeks and Will told Jay he should come."

"No, when was this?"

"Maybe three days ago?"

"That would have been the first night Jay was sick then."

"We'll see how he's feeling."

"That's fair."

They change the subject with Hailey asking about Owen.

Fifteen minutes later, Will returns with the requested items and some extra things. "Got him a ginger ale, and bananas for lunch and some Vick's for tonight to help him breathe."

"Thanks, Will," Hailey thanks the older Halstead before turning to her partner. "Jay, wake up. Will got you some meds."

"'Kay," Jay, slowly gets up and takes the offered medicine. "Thanks, Will."

"How you feeling?" Will asks. "As your brother."

"Been bedder," Jay sneezes.

"Need anything?"

"Doh."

"Okay, we should get back to our team, but let me know if you need anything," he tells his younger brother before leaving.

"Are you sure you want to stay?"

"Yeah. Where's Ruzek and Kim?"

"I don't know. Kim dragged him away earlier."

* * *

The intelligence unit goes through their next game with a win. Jay was still a bit sluggish during the game, but the medicine was helping him.

"What's next on the schedule?" Vanessa asks.

"We have an hour break for lunch and then the guys have soccer and the girls have flag football," Kevin answers.

"Is there a reason that the girls are doing flag football?"

"Id's bostly because they're afraid the guys will actually tackle each other," Jay answers.

"How are feeling? You sound awful."

"I'b fibe."

"Sure you are," Hailey answers while handing him the bananas and pop. "Eat."

Jay takes the fruit and starts to slowly eat it.

When finished eating, Jay lays against Hailey, "I think the meds are working. You feel cooler," she comments.

Jay nods.

* * *

When their lunch break is over, Hailey asks, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, but when this is over, I just want to go home and sleep."

"We can do that," Hailey agrees.

The guys go in one direction and the girls go in the other.

On the soccer field, they put Jay in as an attacker, hoping that the medicines last until the game is over. The police department is playing against the doctors and nurses from Med and Lakeshore.

The shortened game is close for much of the game, with Jay assisting in a goal to tie the game. In the end, the police department loses to the doctors and nurses.

"We were so close," Adam states. "Jay, where was your head?"

"Sorry," Jay responds horsed.

"Hey, let's check on the girls before our last game," Kevin suggests.

The guys walk to the field the girls are at to see they still have fifteen minutes of play. Kevin and Adam take a seat, but Jay spots his brother and goes over to him.

"Hey, how're feeling?" Will asks when he notices Jay lay down next to him.

"Tired of Adam," Jay sneezes.

"You have one more game. Do you think you can manage?"

"I guess. I just want to go home and sleep," Jay comments.

"I know. Hey, I know this is a bad time but have you made a decision about dinner with Dad?"

"He doesn't want me there."

"Jay, can you try? You know he doesn't know how to show that he cares."

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you."

"If I do cobe, I'm brindind Hailey."

"That's fine."

"Hey, babe," Hailey walks up to Jay as her game finishes and Natalie greets Will with a kiss.

"Hey," Jay replies tiredly.

"Tired?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry you're feeling so bad."

"Not your fault."

"Two more hours and we can go back to your place and you can sleep. Unless you want to bail now," Hailey offers.

"That's very tempting."

"What happened?"

"Just tired of Adam."

* * *

Two hours later, the fundraiser is close to coming to a conclusion as the first responders are just waiting for a winner to be announced. The intelligence unit is once again on their blankets and Jay is laying on Hailey as she plays with his hair while Ruzek goes on about what they could have done better during their games.

When the points are finally tallied up, it is announced that the police department won by two points. With that announcement, cheers could be heard from the police officers and groans from the firefighters and medical personnel.

"What do you guys say, we celebrate at Molly's?" Ruzek asks.

Hailey is the first to speak, "Jay and I will take a rain check," she tells him while glancing at Jay's sleeping figure.

"What's wrong with him?" Adam asks.

"Don't start," Hailey warns the officer.

To break the tension, Kim responds to Adam's original question followed by Vanessa and Kevin.

* * *

"You should take a shower," Hailey suggests to Jay as they walk into his apartment.

"I just want to sleep," Jay mumbles.

"The hot water will help."

Jay just nods and walks into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Jay walks out of the bathroom in sweats and a t-shirt. "Did the shower help? Hailey asks when she notices him.

"Yeah, you were right," Jay admits. "What's that?" He questions motioning to a pot on the stove.

"You don't sound as congested, and soup– you need to eat before you take more meds."

"I don't feel hungry."

"You need to eat- you've only had eggs and bananas today."

"Only a little," Jay gives in.

"Okay. Here," Hailey hands Jay the thermometer that Will got. "Take your temperature before you eat." Hailey then goes to get Jay some soup.

Jay sits on the couch and places the device in his mouth. Hailey returns just as the device beeps and takes it from his mouth before he has a chance to lie to her. "100.7," she reads while handing him the soup.

"That's not bad," Jay mumbles taking the soup.

"No, but Will said you run low, not high," Hailey raised an eyebrow questioning Jay.

"I didn't want you to worry."

"I wouldn't have."

"Sorry," Jay sneezes.

Hailey gives in to how pitiful he looks and rubs his back.

When Jay finishes he gets up to put his dish in the sink. When he walks back to the couch, he takes the offered pills from Hailey, "Thanks."

"Do you want to lay here or go to bed?"

Jay hesitates and Hailey offers, "Go to bed, I'll be there in a little bit."

"You don't have to- it's still early."

"You'd do the same for me."

Jay heads to bed while Hailey puts away the leftovers in containers to save for later. When Hailey is done she goes into Jay's room.

As soon as she settles into her side of his bed, she can feel Jay move closer to her. "Go to sleep."

"M'kay."

Hailey runs her hand through his hair before grabbing her phone to play games.

* * *

An hour later, Hailey can feel Jay dig his head into her side. Hailey starts to rub his back just as a coughing fit takes over the detective.

"Hey, you're okay," she tells him. "Just breath."

"Sorry," Jay apologizes once he catches his breath.

"It's okay," Hailey tells him. "Lift your shirt up," she tells him as she reaches for the bag that Will gave her earlier.

Jay does as he is told and Hailey rubs some Vick's onto his chest, "This should help with the coughing," she tells him when she is done.

Jay lays back down and Hailey goes into the bathroom to wash her hand off.

When she returns to Jay's bedroom he is almost back to sleep.

Jay's sleep is calm for the rest of the night.

* * *

Sunday morning the two detectives sleep in. When they finally get up, the two decide on having a lazy day, hanging out on the couch and watching Netflix.

"Will wants be to cobe to dinner next Saturday," Jay tells her.

"Do you want to?"

"By dad's going to be there."

"I know," Hailey admits.

"How?"

"Natalie was telling me."

"When?"

"You were sleeping. It was when Will ran to get you the meds."

"What do you think?"

"I think it's up to you if you should go or not."

"He's an ass, but Will doesn't seeb to get that."

"If you go, would it be for you or would it be for Will?"

"Would you cobe too?"

"If you want me to," Hailey answers.

"I don't want force you into that ebvironmebt," Jay responds.

"Jay, you're not forcing me to do anything."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. So, let Will know we'll be there."

"Thanks, Hailey."

The two turn back to their show and watch another episode before Hailey asks, "How are you feeling today?"

"Like the fundraiser killed me."

"I told you we could have left."

"I would never have heard the end of it frob Ruzek."

"Well Ruzek doesn't use his brain half the time."

"Wonder how he made it in the academy."

"Did he ever finish? He told me that he got pulled for an undercover op., but he never mentioned if he went back to finish."

"Who knows."

* * *

Monday comes around and Jay is feeling much better that he has been for the past few days. The congestion could still be heard, but it was no longer as pronounced and his temperature dropped back to almost normal.

"Have you talked to Will yet?" Hailey asks they are on their way back to the district after interviewing a witness.

"Not yet. I was going to text him tonight."

"It's going to be fine."

"Sure."

"We can leave if it gets too bad."

"I know."

The rest of the drive is silent and when they arrive at the district, they quickly make their way up the stairs to the intelligence bullpen.

"Hey, guys, hurry up," Adam tells them when he hears the two detectives' footsteps. "Kim might have something.

Once the detectives are in the bullpen, Kim goes into what she has found since talking to her CI.

* * *

That night, Will calls just as Jay was going to text him.

"Hey, how're feeling?" Will asks when Jay picks up.

"Better, what's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you've made a decision about next Saturday."

"I talked to Hailey and we'll come."

"Jay, that's great."

"If he makes Hailey uncomfortable, we're leaving," Jay warns his brother.

"Jay, just don't listen to him. Give him a chance."

"He's had his chances. Why should he get another one?"

"Because mom would want you to get along."

"Don't bring her up. She was a saint to put up with him."

"I'm not asking you to forgive him, just that you give him a chance."

"Why should I?"

"Because he's the only parent we have left."

"I should go– I'm still kinda tired."

"Drink water," Will tells him before Jay hangs up on him.

Jay throws his phone onto the coffee table and lays on the couch, falling asleep to some late-night talk show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 97= 36.1  
> 100= 37.8  
> 100.7= 38.2


	23. W is for Walking Pneumonia & (Not) Weak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation at dinner, a trip to the ED, and a talk between brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post Season 7; Follows "U" & "V"; AU Pat Halstead is still alive  
> Completed: Aug. 3, 2020  
> Disclaimer: Idea started before COVID-19

Two weeks after the fundraiser, Hailey and Jay are getting to go to Natalie and Will's for dinner. "It's going to be fine," Hailey reassures Jay.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. You look really tense," Hailey tells him while rubbing his arm.

"Maybe it's not too late to cancel."

"Jay, what's wrong? You were quiet all day at work."

"Nothing."

"Jay," Hailey repeats.

"Headache."

Hailey reaches to feel his forehead, "You feel warm," she tells him cautiously since he just got over being sick a week or so ago.

"I think it's stress-induced."

"Okay, do you want Tylenol?"

"No, it should go away once this is over with."

"Okay," Hailey reluctantly agrees. "Come on, when we get back, we can relax," she tells him while pecking his lips.

"Okay," he agrees while letting her pull him towards the door.

* * *

The drive to Will and Natalie's is quiet, but Hailey can sense that Jay is in a mood and remains quiet.

Arriving at Natalie's house the two notice that Will's car is missing. "If he bailed," Jay starts.

"Hey, he probably ran out to grab something," Hailey grabs his hand walking with him to the door.

Before they have a chance to knock, Natale opens the door to let them in.

"Where's Will?" Jay questions.

"He should be back soon; he was just dropping Owen off at Helen's."

Jay raises an eyebrow.

"Will was worried about him being here if you and your dad got into it."

"See, I shouldn't be here," Jay tells Hailey.

"Jay, don't start. It's not going to be as bad as you think."

Seeing Jay's demeanor Natalie tries to distract him, "Can you two help me with dinner? I'm a little behind."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Jay might give everyone food poisoning," Hailey jokes.

"Can you handle a salad?" Natalie turns to Jay.

"Sure," Jay answers and follows her into the kitchen.

The three work in silence for a while before Jay starts coughing into his arm. "How are you feeling, Jay? That cough doesn't sound good," Natalie comments.

"Fine," Jay answers.

"I think he felt a bit warm," Hailey tells the pediatrician.

"Have you been sick since the fundraiser?"

"No," he tells her.

Natalie looks to Hailey for confirmation. "He was sick for a week, but he said he had a headache before we left and he can't seem to shake the cough."

"I told you the headache is from stress."

"So, you felt better then sick again?"

Jay nods.

"Can I check you out? You might have pneumonia."

"That's not necessary."

"Okay," Natalie gives in. "But if it's not better in a week stop by med and I'll check you out."

"I'll make sure of it," Hailey agrees before Jay excuses himself from the room to use the bathroom.

"You didn't need help, did you?" Hailey asks once she is sure that Jay is out of ear-shot.

"No, but I could tell he needed the distraction."

"Why?"

"I learned a long time ago that if Will was going to be in my life, Jay would be too, by extension. He's family."

Before Hailey can reply Will opens the door, "Look who I found in the driveway," he states as he walks in with his father.

"Dad," Jay greets stiffly as he walks back into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Pat asks surprised.

"I invited them," Will tells their father.

Pat then notices Hailey, "Who are you?" He asks the blonde.

"Hailey Upton," she introduces herself.

"My girlfriend," Jay adds.

"You have a girlfriend? Does she know you're a murderer?"

"Pops!" Will yells.

"Jay's not a murderer," Hailey defends while grabbing Jay's hand for support.

"Dinner's ready. Why don't we sit down?" Natalie suggests trying to ease the tension in the room.

* * *

The group moves into the dining room so everyone can have a seat.

The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. "You could have done so much better Jay. Look at your brother, he has a degree. What are you going to do if you can't be a cop anymore? How would you support your family?"

"If that were to happen, we would figure it out," Hailey answers placing a hand on Jay's thigh under the table.

"Should you even have kids? You're mentally unstable," Pat states.

"Pops!" Will exclaims.

"His PTSD doesn't define him," Hailey defends. "And, he'd be a great father."

Pat ignores her, "Speaking of kids, am I getting a grandchild anytime soon?" He asks Will.

"We have our hands full with Owen right now," Will answers.

"Have you decided on what you're going to do down the road?"

Will and Natalie look at each other. "When we get married, Will's going to file for guardianship," Natalie answers.

"Why not adopt him? Halstead is a great name."

"I'm not his dad and I'm not trying to replace him. His dad died a war hero and if the only connection to Jeff he has is his name, I'm not going to change it," Will answers. "I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that Owen's like my own."

"Well then, who's going to carry on the Halstead name?"

"We'll have at least one more eventually. But for right now," Will trails off.

"What about you two?" Natalie asks.

The two detectives look at each other before Hailey answers, "We both want kids eventually, we're just waiting for the right time."

"Probably for the best. Jay would just screw the kid up," Pat brings up his earlier point.

"Pat, Jay is great with kids," Natalie tells Halstead senior. "He's one of the better police who deal with kids in the ED."

Pat scoffs and the table finishes their dinner in silence as the more reasonable adults know anything they say is going to be Pat trying to break down Jay.

* * *

After dinner is over Natalie and Hailey go into the kitchen to clean up a little while the father and sons go into the family room.

"Will, your mother would be proud of you," Pat tells his oldest son.

"Mom would be proud of both of us," Will responds. "Jay's something to be proud of."

"Your mother wouldn't be proud of a killer."

"You can't speak for mom," Jay states. "When she was dying, you were getting drunk."

"When your mother was dying, you were off killing people," Pat spits back.

"I was fighting a war. I came home."

"But it was too late– she was already dead."

Jay goes to rebuttal but starts coughing instead.

Pat shakes his head in disgust, "You were always weak. Were always sick growing up, I guess somethings don't change. Look at Will, he works in a hospital and he's never sick. You would think between the two of you it would be him who gets sick. Your mother should have listened to me when I told her to abort you."

"POPS!" Will yells.

"What? He's weak and a killer, what mother wants that for a son?"

"At least mom taught me compassion," Jay responds. "That's something you'll never have."

"Compassion is weakness, real men are strong."

It is this moment that Natalie and Hailey walk into the family room. Hailey goes right to Jay, knowing that he is about to shut down from his body language.

Hailey looks at Jay, blue meeting green, silently asking if he is okay. He responds by looking at her, _no, but I can't show it_.

Hailey pecks his cheek before cuddling into his side.

"What's going on?" Natalie asks. "We could hear the yelling from the kitchen."

"I'm just talking with my boys," Pat answers.

Hailey, sensing that Jay is in a mood decides it's time to leave, "Jay, do you want to leave?" she whispers into his ear.

Jay squeezes her hand in response.

"Will, Natalie, thanks for having us, but we have a high-profile case, so Voight wants us in tomorrow," Hailey tells them.

"Okay, I'll walk you out," Natalie offers.

"Nat, I can," Will tells her.

"No, stay with your dad," Natalie insists as she walks with the two detectives.

"Is everything okay?" Natalie asks concerned.

"Yeah, it will be," Hailey answers as she watches Jay get in the driver's side of the truck.

"Okay. Make sure he's drinking plenty of fluids, I don't like the sound of his cough," Natalie tells Hailey.

"I will. Can he take anything for it?"

"I'd rather he didn't. If it is pneumonia, he needs to be coughing up the gunk that's in his lungs," Natalie advises.

"Okay. Thanks, Natalie."

"No problem, call if you need anything."

Hailey nods before climbing into Jay's truck.

* * *

The ride back to his apartment is quiet, Hailey knowing better than to push him too much.

"Hey, what's going through your head?" Hailey asks, grabbing his arm as they walk inside the apartment.

"He's right."

"About what?"

"I'm a murderer," he answers sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You're not a murderer," Hailey responds softly, sitting next to him.

"I've killed people before. That girl from the preschool, she was innocent."

"You didn't want to, though. You didn't have a choice."

"I've still killed people."

"Jay, I've killed people too. Does that make me a murderer?"

"No, of course, you're not."

"Then why is it different for you?"

"Because… because it just does."

"No, it isn't. You are a good man. You wear your heart on your sleeve, but that's what makes you Jay."

"Can we stop talking about this? I think my dad made my headache worse."

"Okay, I'm going to get you some Tylenol. Please take it."

"Okay."

Hailey makes her way to the bathroom to grab the pills from the medicine cabinet and then to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She finds a tall glass and fills it with water before going back to Jay.

Walking back into the bedroom, Hailey sees that Jay had changed into sleep pants and an old t-shirt.

"Here, drink all of this," she tells him handing him the glass and pills.

"This is a lot of water for two pills," Jay comments.

"Drink it all. Natalie said you need fluids."

Jay sighs and takes the pills before downing the water. "Are you staying?" Jay asks as he lays down.

"Do you mind?"

"Never."

"Okay, give me a minute," Hailey tells him as she goes to change.

When Hailey climbs into bed next to Jay, he pulls her against him. Hailey rests her head against his shoulder.

* * *

A few hours later, Hailey wakes up to the bed shaking. Thinking that Jay is having a nightmare, she prepares herself to have to defend herself. When she turns on the bedside lamp, she sees Jay trying to muffle his coughing.

"Shh, you're okay," she comforts while rubbing his back.

"Sorry I woke you," Jay apologizes after he stops coughing.

"Not your fault," Hailey assure him. "What's wrong? You look like you're in pain," Hailey.

"I'm fine."

"Jay."

"It hurts a little when I cough," he admits under her stare.

"Your throat?"

"No. My side."

"Where?"

"Here," Jay answers placing his hand on his side where his ribs are.

"Okay, we should go to Med when we get up tomorrow- or I guess later."

"No, it's fine."

"Jay, for the past two weeks, you have been coughing so much. I'm afraid that you could have cracked a rib."

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No," Hailey answers. "Do you think you can go back to sleep?"

"Yeah," Jay goes to lay back down before Hailey stops him.

"You should be elevated some," she tells him as she moves his pillows around.

"Hailey, I'm fine."

"I know, but this will help with the coughing."

Jay sighs before leaning against the pillows, wrapping an arm around Hailey. "What's wrong?" She asks him.

"What if Will agrees with my dad?"

"About what?"

"He said that my mom should have listened and had an abortion."

"That's– he doesn't deserve to have you as a son."

"What if Will agrees?"

"Is that when we heard Will yell?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"He's wrong. You know that I love you, right?"

Jay slowly nods.

"And that Will and Natalie love you, too?"

Jay shrugs.

"I know from the little that you told me about your mom that she loved you."

"Sometimes, I think she was the only one who did while I was growing up."

Not knowing how to answer, Hailey just hugs him.

* * *

"It doesn't hurt," Jay tells Hailey as she pulls up to Med.

"Jay, you're not getting out of this," she replies as she finds a parking spot.

The two detectives make their way into the ED where Natalie spots them right away. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Jay answers.

Natale then looks to Hailey. "He said his side hurts when he coughs. Can you check to see if he cracked his ribs or something?"

"Yeah, treatment two is open," Natalie answers as she leads them into the room.

"Okay, hop up Jay."

Jay does as he is told and Natalie gets his vitals.

"Okay, low-grade fever and your lungs sound wet. I want to get a chest x-ray and that will check on your ribs and it will tell us if you have pneumonia," she tells Jay before turning to Hailey. "I'll need you to step out while we do the x-ray."

"Okay," Hailey agrees.

"No, I don't want Will finding out we're here."

"Jay, he's your brother– there's no way that he would think that."

"There's no way that a father should think that, but mine does."

"I can tell that Will cares about you. He wouldn't think that."

"Is everything okay?" Natalie questions.

"Just… last night some things came up," Hailey vaguely answers.

"Okay," Natalie responds sensing Jay doesn't want anyone else to know. "Jay, it will only take a couple of minutes. He probably won't even notice her."

"Okay," Jay gives in defeated.

Hailey takes that as her cue to step outside.

* * *

"Okay, Jay, when I tell you, I need you to hold your breath."

Jay does as he is told.

"Good. I'll get Hailey."

Natalie pokes her head out of the room to get the blonde detective.

"What's the verdict?" Hailey asks when she re-enters the room.

"The good news is, your ribs aren't cracked," Natalie tells them.

"Then why do they hurt him?"

"It happens, probably from coughing so much."

"What's the bad news?" Jay questions.

"See the white spots?" Natalie asks. Once the detectives nod, Natalie continues, "That is pneumonia. Now with the severity of your symptoms, I would say it is atypical pneumonia otherwise known as walking pneumonia."

"What's that mean?" Hailey questions.

"What does that mean for work?" Jay asks at the same time.

"It means that he's going to be fine. You can work, but I want you to keep pushing the fluids. Tylenol and Motrin for the fever, if you need a break don't go into the field."

"Does he need antibiotics?"

"I would rather not give him any and see if it clears up on its own. I don't want Jay to become resistant to antibiotics when we already have to eliminate anything in the penicillin family," Natalie answers. "If he's not better in a week, then I'll give him a prescription."

"Okay, is that all?" Jay asks.

"Yes, but please be careful. I'd rather not see you in the ED."

"What are you talking about?" Jay asks confused.

"You said Voight wanted you guys in today. I assumed you came here before you were going into work," she responds just as confused.

"Oh, yeah, right," Jay mumbles as he walks out of the exam room.

"He's just- yeah," Hailey doesn't know what to say without breaking his trust.

* * *

"Will," Natalie calls spotting her boyfriend looking at a chart.

"Yeah?"

"Whatever is going on between you and Jay- just take care of it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were brought up and then Jay got weird."

"What are you talking about? When was this?"

"Hailey brought him in. She was worried about his ribs from coughing. Jay didn't want you to see her while she was standing outside of his room during the x-ray."

"Wait, is he okay?"

"Just check on him later, you know I can't tell you. And before you try snooping, I locked you out of his file."

* * *

"Will? What are you doing here?" Hailey asks as she opens the door to Jay's apartment.

"I came to talk to Jay. Is he busy?"

"He's on the couch," Hailey answers, moving so Will can enter the apartment.

Will walks into the apartment to see Jay lounging on the couch. "What's going on with you?" Will asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Natalie said you got weird today at Med. I tried calling you but you weren't answering, so I called Voight. I got worried that you got hurt and taken to a different hospital. Guess what he said," Will directs at him. "You weren't on duty. Why did you lie to me? And why were you at Med? Natalie said something about your ribs."

"Jay, do you want me to stay?" Hailey asks.

"I can handle it," Jay answers.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Hailey tells him. "Bye Will."

"Um, Hailey thought I cracked my ribs from coughing so much."

"Jay."

"No cracked ribs, but I do have walking pneumonia."

"Jay!"

"Natalie said I was fine. I don't even need antibiotics."

"Why did you lie about working today?"

"I couldn't be around dad anymore."

"Jay, he's an ass. You don't have to listen to him."

"Easy for you to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"About?"

"When he said mom should have listened about aborting me. Is it because you think that too?"

"What no!"

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"He's our dad what did you want me to say? He's not going to listen and you know that."

"I don't know! But I thought you would say something!"

"Jay, you're my brother. Why would I think that?"

"I don't know."

"I love you, you know that right?"

"Hailey said that."

"Jay," Will sighs pulling his brother into a hug. "Stop," Will orders him as Jay tries to pull away. "I'm sorry I made you think that," Will apologizes.


	24. X is for X-Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day off turns into the start to a trip to the ED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Post Season 7  
> Completed: Aug. 12, 2020

Hailey internally curses at Jay when she watches him jump the fence chasing a suspect. She watches as he tumbles to the ground as he cuffs the suspect.

"Jay, please be careful," Hailey asks Jay.

Jay looks at her questionably.

"You are really going to hurt yourself one day," Hailey answers.

"I'm fine," he promises.

* * *

"We really needed this," Kim comments as she, Hailey, and Vanessa settle in at their spot in the park three months later.

"Yeah, after two weeks of nonstop cases," Hailey answers.

"And a slim chance of being called into work," Vanessa adds in reference to the mandatory day off they were given.

"It's nice to not have to worry about someone getting hurt," Kim thinks out loud.

"The day's not over yet," Hailey reminds her, looking over to where the guys are goofing off with a football.

"They aren't that bad," Vanessa defends.

"Eh, they have gotten in some pretty… odd situations when left on their own," Hailey tells Vanessa. Hailey turns to Kim, "Remember the time Adam and Kevin thought it was a good idea to see who could make their turkey fly the highest when they were cooking them for Thanksgiving?"

"How they go away with second-degree burns is still a mystery to me," Kim replies.

"Well it sounds like Jay at least had some sense," Vanessa tries.

"He would have been with them, but he was sick and Will wasn't letting him out of his sight," Hailey rolls her eyes.

* * *

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kevin asks looking over to where the girls are sitting while throwing the football to Adam.

"Who knows what they're talking about," Adam answers while chucking the ball at Jay.

"Probably trying to figure out what trouble we can make," Jay answers while throwing to Kevin to complete the triangle.

"How 'bout we make this interesting?" Adam asks.

"Interesting how?" Kevin wonders.

"Are you about to get us in trouble?" Jay asks at the same time.

"No," Adam answers Jay before explaining his plan. "We find things that we can use to make slingshots and launch this," he spins the football in his hand, "as far as we can and someone has to be able to catch it." Kevin raises his eyebrow. "Every yard the ball goes is two points and if the person chasing it can catch it, they get five points."

The other two nod in agreement before the three take off to find items that they can use to make their slingshots.

* * *

"Where did they go?" Kim asks when she notices that the guys disappeared.

"I don't know, and I don't care what they're doing as long as we don't have to call the fire department again. I think it's second shift at 51 today and I don't know if we can live down another call to them," Hailey answers.

"How is it that they are in an elite unit, but they act like they're fourteen?" Vanessa asks.

"If you figure that out, let us know," Kim laughs.

* * *

The guys meet up a half an hour later in the soccer field where they are able to judge the distance better.

"Okay, our starting point can be here," Adam tells the other two pointing to where a corner kick would be taken.

"What about the goal?" Jay asks pointing out to the net that's sitting fifteen and a half yards away.

"There's no way that any of us are going to be able to get it that far," Adam answers.

"Okay, so how is this going to work?" Kevin questions.

"You catch Jay's, I catch yours, and Jay catches mine," Adam answers.

"Sounds good."

"Okay, Jay, you're up. Kev, get ready." Jay gets his sling ready and Kevin gets ready to catch. Jar released the football and Kevin follows it; he catches it at about ten yards.

When they are done, they mark where Kevin caught it before Kevin gets his sling ready. Releasing the football, Adam is able to catch it at eight and a half yards.

When it is Jay's turn to chase down the ball, he takes off strong looking at the football and not in front of him. Just as he's about to catch the ball, he feels a pain in his arm before he crashes into the ground.

"You missed," Adam points out.

"You okay?" Kevin questions ignoring Adam?

"Yeah, I think you were wrong Adam. The net was in the way," Jay mumbles.

"Maybe we should get back to the girls before they start to think we're trying to kill each other," Kevin suggests.

"Good idea," Jay responds while Adam complains about not having a second round.

* * *

"Hey, where were you guys?" Vanessa asks when she sees the guys walking back to them.

"Trying a new sport," Adam answers.

"Do we want to know?" Kim asks.

"Probably not," Kevin answers.

"Should we know?" Hailey asks.

"No," Jay tells her. "No trouble was caused."

"Well, you guys are back just in time. We were getting ready to pack up and head back to mine and Vanessa's," Hailey tells them.

"Why? Night's still young," Adam questions.

"Beer and a fire," Vanessa answers.

"Not a bad idea," Adam gives in.

"Sounds good," Kevin agrees.

Jay just nods his head in agreement before the group packs up their things and heads to their cars. Jay and Hailey get into his truck and the other four get into Adam's car.

* * *

On the ride back, Hailey notices that Jay is driving with mostly one hand. While this isn't unusual when casually driving, he doesn't normally do this left-handed.

"You okay?" Hailey questions.

"Yeah?" Jay drawls out.

"You would tell me if it wasn't?"

"Yes."

Before either of them can continue the conversation, they arrive at Hailey's house with Adam pulling up behind them. Adam and Kevin go to the backyard to start the fire while Vanessa and Kim go to get the drinks and Hailey and Jay go to grab the chairs from where they are being stored.

Once again, Hailey notices that Jay is favoring his right arm. She decides to keep an eye on him, knowing that he would never admit to anything being wrong even if his arm was falling off.

In no time at all, the chairs are set, Kim and Vanessa have the drinks, and Kevin and Adam have the fire going without sending anyone to Med.

"This is nice, we should do this more often," Kim sighs as she takes a sip of her beer.

"If only the criminals of Chicago felt this way," Hailey tells her.

The group sits outside well past midnight, relaxing and drinking until they decide to call it a night.

* * *

Monday morning the team slowly makes their way into the bullpen. Voight comes out of his office once he sees that everyone has arrived.

Voight hands out their assignments before they can get too comfortable at their desks. Hailey and Jay leave to talk to a lead while the others also complete their assignments.

Getting into Jay's truck, Hailey notices that Jay is still favoring his right arm.

"Are you okay?" she asks once he starts driving.

"Fine," he answers somewhat confused.

"Are you sure? You've been favoring your one arm," Hailey comments.

"Yeah, just a little sore."

"From?"

"I might have ran into a meatal post the other day," he tells her before hurriedly adding, "It's fine."

"When we were at the park?" Jay's silence gives her the answer she was looking for. "And I thought we managed a day where you three weren't doing anything crazy."

"Look, we're here," Jay tells her trying to avoid the impending conversation.

"This isn't over," Hailey tells him before they both get out of his truck.

Walking up to their lead, they notice the change in posture. When they get closer, he takes off causing the two detectives to chase after him. Jay being the faster of the two manages to catch up first, tackling him to the ground.

In the process, he manages to kick Jay in the arm causing Jay to bit back a curse while Hailey helps subdue him. "You're under arrest for assaulting an officer," she tells him while putting the cuffs on. Once she is sure he can't cause any harm, she turns to Jay, "Are you okay?" she asks going to touch his arm.

"Fine," he answers as he pulls his arm away from Hailey, his voice high from pain.

"Uh-huh," she agrees. "You're getting checked out. It's your choice: I can call for an ambo to check you out or I can take you to Med."

"Neither is necessary- I just need ice. No need to waste resources."

"I'll drive you then," she decides before calling into her radio. "5021 Henry, requesting a patrol unit to transfer an offender back to the 21st." Hailey gets an affirmative before she pulls out her cell phone and calls Voight.

"Where are you?" the gruff voice comes through the phone.

"Waiting on a patrol car to come get our lead. He ran and I'm taking Jay to Med- I think he broke his arm."

"Make sure he actually gets checked out," Voight answers before hanging up.

* * *

Once a patrol car comes to transport the offender, Hailey forces Jay into the passenger side of his truck before driving to Med. The ride is quiet– Jay not happy about the unwanted trip and Hailey trying not to poke the bear.

"What happened?" Will asks when he sees the two detectives walk into the ED.

"Hailey's overreacting," Jay answer.

"I think he broke his arm," Hailey tells the older Halstead at the same time.

"I'll get Natalie to check him out. Go to treatment three," he tells the duo.

"This is unnecessary," Jay tells the blonde.

"I'll be the one to decide that," Natalie says as she walks into the room. "So, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Offender kicked him in the arm. And apparently it was the same arm that he hurt by running into a metal post a couple days ago."

"Okay," Natalie answers, not rattled anymore by the antics of the guys of the intelligence unit. She prods his arm for a minute before telling them, "I can't be sure without an x-ray, but I think Hailey's right. I'm going to send you up to radiology and we can go from there."

"Is there a waiting room up there?" Hailey questions. "I don't trust him to not try to escape."

"Yes, you just can't go in with him."

"That's fine, I just want to make sure he actually gets the x-rays done."

Hailey puts in the order for the x-ray and then directs Hailey how to get to radiology before leaving to check on another patient.

"I would have made it on my own," Jay comments while waiting for his name to be called.

"You wouldn't have tried to get back to the district?"

"You have my keys," Jay points out.

"It's your arm that's hurt, not your leg. You wouldn't have ran back?"

"No," Jay answers unconvincingly.

"Jacob Halstead," the x-ray technician calls.

Jay gets up and follows her back. Entering the room, the tech has Jay lay on a bed before laying a lead apron over him and adjusting his arm on top of the apron.

The technician takes the x-ray before moving Jay's arm into a different position and taking another one. She does this two more times before she instructs Jay that she is done and will send the pictures to Dr. Manning.

"Did you behave?" Hailey teases when she sees Jay walking back to her.

"Funny."

The two make their way back to the ED where they settle back into the treatment room that Will sent them to.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Natalie walks back in, "Sorry about the wait," she apologizes.

"It's fine," Hailey answers.

"So, can I get out of here now?" Jay asks.

"Not yet, your arm is broken," she tells him.

"Now what happens?" he asks.

"It's a clean break, so it's already aligned. I'll set you up in a cast and get you information on an orthopedic specialist who will take over your case."

"Can't it just be splinted if it's a clean break?" Jay asks.

"No, that would allow too much mobility; plus, I know you would take it off the second it felt better," Natalie answers.

"Fine."

"Normally, it would be splinted until the swelling went down, but I don't see any so we can cast it today. Do you want to pick a color?" Natalie asks while handing him a color swatch.

"I think the hot pink would look good on you," Hailey jokes.

"Haha," Jay deadpans.

"Okay, what about camouflage?"

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"Do you have black?"

Natalie goes to look in the cast cart, "Doesn't look like it. What about navy blue? That's dark too. Or we have white," she offers.

"Blue," Jay answers.

"Okay," Natalie acknowledges while getting out the casting material. Natalie places Jay's arm in the correct position on a towel on his lap before putting the stockinet over Jay's arm and thumb. Natalie then starts the process of wrapping the cast padding around Jay's arm on top of the stockinet. When Natalie is satisfied with the padding, she checks with Jay, "How's that feel? Is it too tight? Like it's going to cut off circulation?"

"It feels fine," Jay answers.

"Are you sure? If it cuts off circulation, you'll have to get it cut off and go through this process again," Natalie tells him.

"I'm sure."

"Okay, I'm going to do the fiberglass part now." Natalie opens a tin foil wrapper and dips the roll in a bucket of water. Natalie then wraps the fiberglass material around the cast padding, pulling the excess stockinet over the cast padding and first layer of fiberglass. Natalie then starts on the second role of the fiberglass material.

"How's this feel?" Natalie asks when she is done as she moves her hands over the hard material to help it set.

"Still the same. It's a little hot though," he adds.

"That's normal. It means it's setting. You can move around in five minutes and it should be completely set in a half an hour."

"Can I leave now?"

"Let it set first. You're going to need to keep it clean and dry; no scratching the skin underneath the cast; no sticking anything in the cast; and cover it when you shower. I also want you to use a sling for the first week to minimize any swelling."

"How does he keep it dry?" Hailey asks.

"You can either use plastic bags or you can get a cast cover at most drug stores. Any more questions?"

"What about work?"

"You're going to have to follow up with the orthopedic specialist, but you'll probably be in the cast for eight weeks. You should be able to go back once you're not on any pain meds. Full duty after you're cleared from PT."

"PT, Pain meds?" Jay questions.

"Just to get range of motion and mobility back. And I'll get you a script-"

"I don't need any."

"Tylenol 3," Natalie insists.

"I'll make sure he takes it," Hailey promises.

"I'll go and get you the sling," Natalie tells them as she walks out of the room.

* * *

In Jay's truck, Hailey is driving them to the drug store to get his prescription and cast cover. "Do you want to tell me how you ran into the post?"

"Not really," Jay answers.

"How's your arm feeling?"

"Fine. If I don't take anything, do you think Voight will let me work desk?"

"No, because you are taking pain meds. At least the first couple of days."

"Hailey…"

"No, Jay. I know how a broken bone feels. Stop being the tough guy, it's just us."

"It's a little sore, but it's fine."

"Jay, that's not fine," Hailey reminds him before going into the store to get the needed items.

Hailey returns to the car fifteen minutes later, "I'm going to drop you off then I'm going back to the district."

Jay nods, "What about my truck?"

"You're not driving on pain meds and in a sling."

"Fair enough."

* * *

"Do you need anything before I leave?" Hailey questions after she forces Jay to take the pain medication.

"I'm good."

"Okay, call if you need anything."

"Um, Hailey. Uh, thanks for today."

Hailey gives a small smile, "No problem. I'll check in with you later."

* * *

"How's Halstead?" Kevin asks when Hailey returns to the district.

"Okay, he broke his arm."

"How'd that happen?"

"Our lead ran and kicked him in the arm when Jay tackled him. Apparently, Jay hurt the same arm by running into a metal post a couple days ago. Do you know anything about that?" Hailey asks.

"Well, we might have been trying something different with the football."

"Like?" Hailey questions.

"Ruze, you want to take over?"

Hailey looks to Ruzek. "We set up a slingshot and tried to see who could get the ball the farthest and if it could be caught."

"That doesn't explain the metal post," Kim adds now interested in the conversation.

"He did run into the soccer goal," Adam tells them.

"How?"

"We were using the ling to help judge distance better."

"And you couldn't have moved to the side a few yards? Or use a different line?"

"Ruze didn't think that any of us could launch the ball that far. Halstead did question it though," Kevin throws his friend under the bus.

Hearing this, all the girls shake their heads. Vanessa getting an understanding of the antics the guys really get up to when they are bored.

* * *

"Need a hand?" Hailey asks amused a couple of days later when she sees Jay struggling with the photos he's trying to pin to the whiteboard.

"Not everyone is a lefty," he answers as he moves out of the way.

"Maybe now you will think twice before running on a line with metal soccer net," Hailey comments.

"How did you find out?"

"Adam and Kevin."


	25. Y is for Youth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High school Will caring for his younger brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: High School A/U  
> Completed: Jan. 05, 2020

"Hey, you're being quiet. Is everything okay?" a seventeen-year-old Will Halstead asks his sixteen-year-old brother, Jay, as he drives them to school in the car he spent the summer rebuilding.

"Yeah, just tired," Jay answers him from the passenger seat.

"Is anyone giving you trouble?" Will asks, wanting to protect his younger brother.

"No," Jay answers while looking out the window.

"You would tell me if someone was?" Will asks, looking at Jay while they are at a red light.

"Yes, Will," Jay answers annoyed.

The light turns green and Will starts driving again, "I'm just looking out for you," he tells his brother, the hidden message of _I love you, brother_ , in that statement.

"I love you too," Jay whispers, the words feeling strange on his tongue, as their father tells them that real men don't tell other guys that they love them- even family.

The drive is silent until they arrive at Will's girlfriend's house to pick her up. She gets in the back seat, "Morning, Kayla," Will greets.

"Morning Will. I didn't know your brother was driving with us today," she comments.

"Yeah, soccer season is over, so he doesn't need to be at school so early anymore," Will explains.

"Is he riding home with us too?" Kayla asks.

"I don't know," he tells his girlfriend. "Do you need a ride home, Jay?" he asks turning to his brother.

"I was going to go over to Hailey's to work on a project for history," Jay answers.

"Okay, do you need a ride to her place?" Will asks as pulls the car back onto the road.

"No, her brother is going to give us a ride," Jay answers.

The rest the ride is quiet: Jay having been quiet all morning and Kayla not being happy about sitting in the back for her boyfriend's brother. Will can sense there is a mood in the car and decides to stay quiet.

Arriving to the high school, the three of them going to their lockers.

* * *

Jay walks into his first-period math class and lays his head down on his desk. "Hey, Halstead," Adam Ruzek greets as he walks into the classroom.

Hearing his name Jay looks up, "Hey, what are you doing here already?" he asks his friend.

"What do you mean 'already'? Class is starting in, like, two minutes," Adam tells Jay.

"Oh, I guess I fell asleep," Jay makes up an excuse.

Before Adam can reply to him, their teacher starts his lesson. Jay, normally a good student, is having a hard time focusing on the lesson as a headache is starting to form.

Jay robotically takes notes from the board without trying to understand what they mean.

When the bell rings, Jay goes to his next class after stopping at his locker. His next four classes go the same way as his first; his headache becoming worse and this throat starting to hurt.

By the time lunch comes around, Jay just wants to sleep. Instead of getting in line to get lunch, Jay goes straight to the table where his friends usually meet and lays his head on the table.

"Hey, are you going to eat?" Kim asks when she sits down next to him.

"No," Jay murmurs as he looks up at her.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asks concerned, used to him having the appetite of the average teenage boy.

"It's just a headache."

"Here, at least eat this," Kim tells him while handing him her container of apple sauce and a spoon.

"Thanks," he tiredly thanks her while he quietly he eats the apple sauce as the others make their way to the table they are at.

Once finished with the food that Kim forced on him, Jay lays his head on the table ignoring Kim, Adam, Kevin, Antonio, and Erin. "Jay," he hears Kim calling, "Lunch is over."

"Okay, thanks," he murmurs tiredly.

"Hey, go to the nurse," Kim advises.

"No, I'm good," Jay denies.

Jay goes to his next class, glad that it is a health day and not a gym day. Going into the classroom, Jay takes a seat in the back and hopes that he won't be called on.

Jay spends the period copying what is on the board, not really listening to what their teacher is saying.

When the bell rings, Jay hurriedly gets up to go to his locker before entering his history class.

* * *

Walking into his history classroom, he sees that Hailey is already in her seat. Jay walks up to her before asking, "Hey," he starts.

"Hey, Jay," she replies before looking up. "Are you okay? You don't look so great," she comments.

"Actually, I was going to ask if you mind working on the project another day? I'm not feeling that great."

"Yeah, no problem. Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I should be able to catch Will before he leaves."

"Okay, well I heard we were just watching a movie today, so if you want to sleep, you can copy my notes later," she offers.

"Thanks, Hailey."

The class passes fast for Jay, who is woken by Hailey five minutes before the school day ends. When the bell rings their teacher dismisses them and the two gather their things before walking out of the class. "Sorry about the project," Jay apologizes.

"Hey, it's not your fault. This is why I wanted to start now, in case something happened, we wouldn't be stuck at the last minute."

"Hailey-" Jay tries.

"No, Jay. Go catch your brother before he leaves you here; feel better, and look at it this way- it's Friday, so you have all weekend," Hailey tells him before leaving him by his locker.

Jay grabs the books out of his locker that he needs for his homework before searching for Will. Seeing him at the end of the hallway by the gym, Jay calls to him, "Hey, Will. Wait up."

Hearing his brother's voice, Will stops in his tracks, "Jay? What's up?" he asks.

"Can you give me a ride home?" Jay asks.

"Sure, but aren't you going over to Hailey's for a project?"

"I was going to, but I don't feel good, so we're doing that another day," Jay tells him.

"What's wrong?" Will asks concerned about his brother.

"Headache and my throat hurts," Jay tells him.

Will reaches his hand out to feel the back of Jay's neck, immediately feeling the heat radiating from him, "I think you have a fever too, come on."

The brothers walk out to Will's car, meeting Kayla on the way. "Hey, Kayla. I'm going to give Jay a ride home before we go to your place," Will lets her know.

"I thought he was going to work at a partner's house to work on a project?" Kayla asks annoyed at the detour.

"He was, but they canceled. He's not feeling well."

"Fine, but he better not get me sick," she demanded.

"I can walk," Jay offers not wanting to mess up his brother's plans.

"No, Jay. It's not a problem," Will reassures as he makes sure his brother gets in his car.

The drive to their house is quiet, Jay in the back not feeling in the mood to talk, and Kayla annoyed with Jay.

Pulling up in front of their house, Will sees that Jay had fallen asleep on the short ride home. Seeing his mom's car is not in the driveway, he looks over to Kayla, "Come in. I want to make sure he's settled before I leave him." Kayla gets out of the car, knowing that it will be a while for Will to make sure Jay's okay.

Walking into their house, Jay goes into his and Will's share bedroom to change while Will goes into the bathroom to grab medicine and a thermometer and Kayla goes to the living room to wait for Will.

Finding what he is looking for, Will goes into their bedroom to find Jay already laying in his bed. "Hey, can I take your temperature?" Will asks, showing Jay the thermometer. Jay only opens his mouth, letting Will put the device into his mouth. "102.4, here, takes these," Will tells him as he hands Jay two Tylenols. "Do you want me to stay with you?" he asks.

"No, I'm just going to sleep," Jay tells him, feeling guilty that Will is missing time with his girlfriend because of him.

"Okay, I'm going to get you the phone so call me if you need anything," Will orders while walking out of their room to grab the phone. "Here is the phone and the phone number for Kayla's house," Will tells him. "Do you need anything else?"

"No. Thanks, Will."

"No problem, I'll check on you when I get home."

"Okay," Jay answers already half asleep.

* * *

Will walks out to the living room to see Kayla looking around at the pictures of the two brothers. "Hey," he calls. "Jay's asleep, we can go now."

"Okay, you know my parents are excited to meet you tonight?" she asks

"Yeah, I'm a bit nervous, are you sure this is okay?" he asks referring to what he is wearing.

"You're going to be fine. My parents are laid back."

"Okay, let's go," Will says, leading Kayla out to his car.

"Is there anything that I should know?" Will asks on the way to Kayla's house.

"No, now stop worrying," she tells him.

Waking into her house, Kayla can hear her mom calling for her, "Kayla? Is that you?"

"Yes mom. And Will's with me."

"You're late," Kayla's mom tells her coming into the room, "I was getting worried."

"Sorry, Mrs. Graham," Will apologizes. "It's my fault. I had to take my brother home and make sure he was settled before coming over."

"You must be Will. I've heard a lot about you. Why don't you two go watch a movie? Kayla, dinner will be ready when your father gets home."

"Okay, mom. Will, we keep the VHSs in the family room," Kayla tells Will.

The two go into the family room to set up the movie while her mom starts on dinner.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Halstead home, Jay is fast asleep in his room, unbeknown to his parents who have gotten home early so they can go out to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary.

"It's quiet," Pat comments, "You think our boys are staying out of trouble?" he asks his wife Ellen.

"It's quiet because both boys aren't home. Will is at his girlfriend's and Jay had a project he was going to a friend's house to work on after school," she reminds him.

"We did good with them, didn't we?"

"We did. Now we need to go or we'll miss our reservation."

Twenty minutes after his parents leave, Jay wakes up feeling really hot. Kicking off his covers, he tries moving around to get comfortable again. He tosses and turns for a few minutes, trying to ignore the growing uncomfortable sensation in his stomach.

Not wanting to get sick on his bed, Jay gets up, swaying slightly, to go into the bathroom. Sitting in front of the toilet, Jay throws up the apple sauce that Kim gave him at lunch, and what he believes is every meal he has eaten since yesterday morning.

Feeling like he is done, Jay wants to go back to the comfort of his bed, so he stands up. When he does so, black spots cloud his vision, so he grabs on to the sink for support. Once his vision clears, Jay makes his way back to his room. Still feeling like he is going to pass out, Jay, who is scared of actually passing out at this point, grabs the phone and dials the number that his brother left for him. Jay listens to the phone ringing, hoping that someone will give his brother the phone.

* * *

While making dinner, Kayla's mother hears the phone ringing. "Hello, who is this?" she asks, not recognizing the number.

"Hello?" a scared voice comes through the phone.

"Who is this?" she asks again.

"Is Will Halstead there?"

"Who's is asking?"

"His brother, Jay."

"He is. Give me a second," she tells him while putting down the phone. Walking into the family room where the two teens are, she calls his attention, "Will, your brother called. I have him waiting for you."

Hearing this, Will rushes to the phone, worried about Jay. "Jay? Are you still there?" he asks.

"Yeah," is the whispered answer he receives.

"What's wrong?"

"Can you come home? I really don't feel good," he cries.

"Okay, I can. Jay, I need you to calm down or you'll make yourself feel worse. Can you tell me what doesn't feel good?"

"My stomach. I woke up feeling really hot and then I got sick. When I was coming back to our room, I got dizzy- I'm afraid I'm going to pass out."

"Where are you now?"

"Floor."

"Okay, I'm going to be home in ten minutes, don't move," Will tells him, "Everything is going to be okay," Will assures before hanging up.

Walking back into the family room, Will finds the mother and daughter who gave him privacy while he was one the phone in the kitchen, "Is everything okay?" asks Mrs. Graham.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Graham, but I need to go," he apologizes.

"Why?" Kayla asks.

"My brother's not feeling well and he's home alone. He's-" Will tries to explain.

"You don't have to say anymore," Mrs. Graham cut him off. "I hope your brother feels better and you can come back another time and meet Kayla's dad."

"Thank you," Will is grateful that his girlfriend's mother is so understanding.

"You don't need to thank me for that, now go," she shoos him out of the house.

Will gets in his car to drive home, coming close to breaking multiple traffic laws to get to his brother.

* * *

Arriving home, Will hurries in to the house. He finds Jay in their room, laying on the floor where he was probably leaning against the dresser. Will feels Jay's head to find that he is burning up. Will goes into the bathroom to get a wet washcloth, wringing out the excess water, Will wipes the cool cloth against Jay's hot forehead.

After a few minutes, Jay wakes up, "Will?" he asks confused.

"Hey, welcome back. How are you feeling?"

"Sick."

"Okay, if I help, can you make it back to your bed?" Will asks. When Jay nods, Will helps him sit up slowly before throwing Jay's arm around his shoulder and wrapping his arm around Jay's waist and slowly helps Jay walk across the room to his bed.

"I need to take your temperature again," Will tells him once Jay is laying down again. Jay opens his mouth, letting his brother stick the device in. "103.8," Will reads. "You can't have any more medicine for a couple more hours. Do you think you can eat a popsicle?" Jay just shakes his head. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Will asks wanting to help his brother.

"Stay?"

"Stay with you? I can do that."

"No, lay with me?"

"I can do that too," Will answers. "Scooch over," Will orders. Jay weakly moves over, allowing enough space for Will to fit too. Once Will is lying next to him, Jay moves, so his head is resting on his brother's chest. Listening to his steady heartbeat, while Will keeps the washcloth on Jay's forehead, trying his best to bring down the fever he is running.

"How are you feeling now?" Will asks, "Do you feel like you're going to pass out again?"

"No. I feel cooler," Jay tells him.

"Good, that's good."

The two lay in silence, Jay's breathing becomes steady to the point where Will believes that he is asleep. So, Will is surprised when Jay calls to him, "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry," he whispers into his brother's shirt.

"'Sorry'?" Will repeats confused, "Sorry for what?" he asks.

"I messed up your night," Jay tells him, not looking up at his brother.

"What are you talking about?" Will asks, "You didn't mess up my night."

"I made you come home because I was scared."

"Hey, it's not your fault you got sick. And you're my little brother, you're more important than my plans."

"I still feel bad about that."

"Don't. Kayla's mom was really understanding."

"What about Kayla?"

"She knows you're important to me."

"That's not an answer."

"Try to sleep. I'll wake you up when you can have more medicine," Will tells him. Hearing this, Jay snuggles in closer to his brother, not caring about what their dad says about being real men, glad to have a brother like Will.

Glad that Jay has fallen back to sleep, Will closes his eyes, telling himself it's only for a few minutes.

* * *

Pulling into the driveway almost two hours later, Pat and Ellen Halstead see Will's car is parked at the curb. "It looks like at least one of the boys are home," Ellen comments.

Walking into the house, Pat and Ellen see that it is dark, "Will?" Pat calls.

Hearing no answer, Ellen tells Pat, "I'm going to check their room." Walking down the hall she sees a light coming from underneath the boys' door. "Will." She knocks. Not hearing an answer, she slowly opens the door to find both her boys asleep on Jay's bed.

Seeing the boys asleep together surprises her, as that hasn't happened since they were young. She then notices the thermometer laying on the table and the rag near Jay's head. Taking a better look at them, she sees Jay's face is flushed from a fever.

Reaching out, she places the back of her hand on Jay's forehead, surprised at how much heat is coming off of him.

Jay feels someone touching his head and burrows into the gentle touch, "Mmm."

"Jay, baby. Can you hear me?"

"Mom?" Jay asks half awake.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Sick."

"Do you know when the last time you've taken anything?"

Hearing voices, Will wakes up, "Mom? When did you get home? How are you feeling Buddy?"

"Sick, hot. Can I have more medicine now?"

"Will when was the last time he had something?" their mom asks.

"I gave him two Tylenol when I brought him home from school," Will answers.

"Okay, do you think you can eat something before I give you something?"

"No."

"What about some apple sauce? A couple of bites?"

"I can try."

"Okay. Will can you get it for him?"

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Will leaves the room, leaving Jay with their mother.

"I thought you were working on a project after school?"

"I was going to, but I wasn't feeling good, so Will brought me home."

"You should have called me. I would have picked you up."

"I didn't want to mess up your anniversary."

"Baby, you're more important than that."

Will walks back into their room with the food, "Here."

Jay eats enough that his mom lets him take the pills. "Do you want to stay here or move to the couch?"

"Jay, if you move to the couch, you can pick the movie," Will tells him, referring to how they watch a movie every Friday night as a family.

"Okay," Jay agrees.

"Sounds good. I'm going to make up the couch for you. Will can you help him down?"

"Yes, mom."

* * *

The four of them watch _Jurassic Park,_ Pat sitting in his recliner and Jay, Will, and Ellen on the couch. Ellen sitting at one end with Will at the other end and Jay laying with his head on his mother's lap and feet in his brothers. Ellen plays with his hair like she knows he likes.

The weekend goes by as lazy days. Kayla called the house multiple times, wanting to know if Will wanted to hang out and do something, each time he would tell her that he wanted to stay in with Jay.

Sunday night while the two brothers were watching the Bears game, "I'm sorry you didn't get to hang out with Kayla this weekend," Jay apologizes.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know she was calling for you."

"Hey, you didn't make me do anything."

"But-"

"No 'buts'," Will tells him. "Why don't you lay down?" Will suggest when he hears Jay yawn. Will helps Jay lay on him.

"Jay, wake up," Will calls to him when the game is over.

"Wha'?" he asks confused.

"Game's over. We lost. Come on, let's go to bed."

* * *

The next morning, Will leaves for school while Jay is still sleeping. Driving to Kayla's on the way to school, he knows that they are going to have to have a talk.

"Hey, Will," Kayla greets as she gets into the passenger seat of his car, "No Jay today?"

"He still had a fever last night," Will tells her.

"What did you do this weekend? I mean, you couldn't have done much with Jay if he was sick all weekend," she asks, annoyance clear in her voice.

"What is your problem with my brother?"

"He's fifteen, he can take care of himself. He doesn't need his older brother when he's sick."

"He's sixteen," Will corrects her annoyed.

"That's not helping your point."

"Look, if you can't understand that Jay is important in my life, then I can't be with you."

"You're- you're breaking up with me?" she asks shocked.

"Yes. Look, Jay's my brother. Family is important."

"You're going to regret letting your brother dictate your life," she says before getting out of the car in the student parking lot.

Will finally sees what kind of person Kayla is, making a mental note not to tell Jay because he knows that he will blame himself.

* * *

On the way to school on Wednesday when Jay returns, he questions Will on why they are not driving to Kayla's house.

"Let's just say, I saw her true colors," Will answers cryptically.

"Is this because of me?"

"No. It's not and I don't want you blaming yourself."

"Okay," he whispers.

"Whoever I date, needs to know that you are in my life and it's my job as your older brother to take care of you."

Jay is silent, not sure of how he has such a great brother.

Pulling into the student parking lot, Will turns to Jay, "Find me if you're starting to feel sick again."

"Okay. Thanks, Will," Jay answers before getting out of the car to see if he can get the work he missed the past two days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 102.4= 39.1  
> 103.8= 39.9


	26. Z is for Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected swim leads to a hospital stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline: Season 7  
> Completed: Aug. 22, 2020

"Jay, be careful!" Hailey yells at her partner as he slides on a patch of ice while chasing a suspect.

Jay tackles their suspect before answering Hailey, "It's fine. Nothing is going to happen."

"Just be careful, the wait times in the ED are forever this time of year," Hailey reminds him.

"I got him, didn't I?" Jay smirks.

"Isn't slipping on ice how you got your last concussion?" she questions him, eyebrow raised.

"I mean, it wasn't even that bad," Jay tries to play off.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"It required a hospital stay."

"It was only twenty-four hours for observation," Jay responds.

"Can we just get him back to the district?" Hailey questions, knowing that she won't win this debate with Jay.

"Fine," Jay agrees.

* * *

Two weeks later, the unit is working on the paperwork and reports that they always try to avoid when Hailey gets a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It's like something bad is going to happen, she just doesn't know what.

"Want to go on a lunch run?" Jay asks when he notices what time it is.

"Yeah, let's go," Hailey agrees cautiously.

"Everything okay?" Jay questions his partner, noticing her strange behavior, once they are in his truck.

"Yeah, just I have a bad feeling but I don't know why."

"About what?"

"I don't know. That's what worries me."

The rest of the ride is quiet, Hailey concerned but not knowing why and Jay concerned for his partner.

Just before they go to get out of the truck, a call comes over the radio. "All units, be advised, home invasion on the 200th block of West Ave. Suspect is in a tan sedan. Hispanic male in his thirties. White t-shirt, dark blue jeans, green baseball hat."

The two detectives look at each other, "That five blocks away," Hailey states.

"5021 George, I'm five blocks away. Be advised: plainclothes officers responding," Jay responds into the radio.

"Copy 5021 George." Hearing the response, Jay pulls out of his spot and starts in the direction of the call.

Approaching the location of the call, Jay and Hailey look around carefully for the suspect. "Jay, over there," Hailey points at the sedan matching the description that came over the radio.

"Run the plates," Jay tells her as he starts to discreetly follow the vehicle.

"Vehicle belongs to Cameron Díaz. He's got a rap sheet a mile long; ranges from petty thief to rape allegations."

"So, he could be our person of interest in the home invasion," Jay guesses.

"He fits," Hailey answers.

"Let's do this," Jay answers as he speeds up to get closer to the car in question.

"Jay, be careful," she reminds her partner of the black ice. Jay nods in acknowledgment as he turns on the lights.

Díaz notices and speeds up heading towards the pier.

"Where's he going?" Jay asks out loud.

"Don't know," Hailey answers as she watches the car move.

Díaz parks the car and then runs– going into the crowd, trying to lose the two detectives.

* * *

"Where'd he go?" Hailey asks as she searches through the crowd, losing Díaz because she can't see over most of the crowd present.

"I see him," Jay tells her as he uses his height advantage. Jay takes off after him, not wanting to lose him again.

Weaving through the crowd, Jay manages to catch up with their person in question. By now, Díaz is near the rails and Jay attempts to corner him as Hailey catches up to the two of them. Hailey points her gun at him, hoping that it would give her some control. Díaz knows that he only has a small chance of getting away, so in one swift movement, he lunges at Jay hoping to catch him off-guard.

Jay stumbles, not expecting the actions of Díaz. Because of his Ranger training, it only takes him a second to move to subdue Díaz.

Hailey doesn't shoot, in fear of accidentally getting her partner by accident.

Realizing that he is going to lose, Díaz does the only thing that he can think of: jump over the rails with Jay in his grasp.

"Jay!" Hailey yells looking over the edge to see her partner struggling with their now suspect. Relief floods through Hailey as she sees Jay appear above the water, albeit still struggling with Díaz.

Jay manages to knock Diaz out before calling out to Hailey, "I'm fine, but I'm going to need some help getting out."

"What about Díaz?"

"He's fine– just unconscious."

"I'll call for Squad," Hailey tells her partner before pulling out her radio. "5021 Henry to Central. I need rescue squad to the Navy Pier. CPD detective and offender when over the rails," she informs while trying to manage the crows that have since gathered.

"Copy. Squad is five minutes out."

"Jay, squad is five minutes away," Hailey informs her partner.

"Okay."

"How're you doing?"

"This is a little colder than I would like," Jay answers.

"I know," Hailey answers, not knowing what else to say.

* * *

"What's the problem?" Severide asks when squad arrives on scene.

"The suspect took Jay over and he can't get back up on his own."

"Okay," he replies before leaning over the rail. "We'll have you up in a minute," Severide tells the detective before ordering Tony and Capp to grab the equipment from the truck.

Once ready, Severide and Cruz descend into the water with Tony and Capp anchoring the lines.

Cruz grabs the offender and Severide helps Jay. Cruz throws the offender over his shoulders as he's unconscious and Severide throws Jay's arm over his shoulder and his arm around Jay's waist as Jay's hands are numb and he can't feel or move his fingers.

Once on solid ground, Jay and the offender are both placed in separate ambulances. Jay is placed in 61 and the offender is placed in another.

By now, the rest of the intelligence unit is with them at the pier, so Kevin goes with the offender and Hailey climbs in with Jay. "'m fine," Jay slurs.

"Jay, you're going into hypothermic shock," Brett tells him. "I need to cut off your wet clothes," she continues before cutting off his shirt and pants, leaving him only in his boxers before wrapping him in an emergency insulated blanket.

"Is he going to be okay?" Hailey asks over his chattering teeth.

"Yeah, I would say that he's at mild borderline moderate hypothermia. We just need to warm him up," Brett answers as the ambulance lurches forward for the impending trip to Med. Hailey can see Adam following in Jay's truck and Kim following behind Adam to give him a ride back to the district.

* * *

When they arrive at Med, Hailey is pushed to the side for less than a minute before she is ambushed by the older Halstead. "Hailey? What happened?"

"The suspect took Jay over the rail with him," Hailey answers as they look into the treatment room that Jay is in.

Jay, who is now in a hospital gown, is being treated by Marcel. There is an IV in his arm giving him warm fluids and he is covered in may blankets. The two look at Jay and the only thing not covered by blankets is his face.

"How you feeling?" Will asks as he walks into the room.

"O-ook-kay," Jay answers.

"Jay."

"C-col-ldd."

"I'm sorry."

"'s no-ot you-ur fa-fault."

"Will, when he came in his temperature was 90 and we got it up to 92. We're going to move him to a room and keep him for observation until his temperature is back to normal range," Marcel tells him.

"Thanks, Crockett."

"What's that mean?" Hailey asks.

"It means he moved from borderline moderate to mild hypothermia."

"I'm going to update the team," Hailey tells Will. "Let me know what room he's in?"

"Of course."

* * *

"Voight," their boss answers.

"They're keeping Jay for observation; he has mild hypothermia."

"I assume that you're staying with him?"

"Unless you need me to come back to the station."

"No, stay with him. Make sure he doesn't try to escape."

"Will do."

* * *

"Hey, how is he?" Hailey asks when she enters his room.

"Okay, he's sleeping," Will answers, briefly taking his eyes off of his brother.

"Is that normal? Is it okay for him to sleep?"

"Yes, his body is exhausted and he is fine to sleep."

Hailey takes a seat in the chair on the other side of Jay's bed.

"Are you okay?" Will asks the blonde detective.

"I'm fine. I'm not the one who ended up in the water."

"Doesn't mean that you weren't affected."

"I'm just glad that he's okay."

"Jay's tough, he-" Will is interrupted by his pager going off.

"Go. I'll stay with him," Hailey offers when she sees the conflicted look of the older Halstead.

"Thanks, I'll be back as soon as I can," Will tells her hoping that he won't be away from his brother for too long.

Hailey looks at Jay, just watching him breathe. Seeing his breathing, Hailey can tell that he is in a deep sleep and she is relived watching him, knowing that he is going to be fine.

* * *

"Will?" Jay groans an hour and a half after his brother left for the ED.

"Jay? Do you need anything?" Hailey asks when she hears her partner.

"Where's Will?"

"He got paged. Do you want me to get him?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Do you want me to get you anything?"

"N-no. I-I'm fi-fine."

Before Hailey can argue a nurse comes in to take his temperature. She runs the device over his forehead and gets a reading moments later. "92.8. You're going in the right direction. Do you need anything?"

"No."

"Okay, press the call button if you do," she reminds him before leaving the room.

"Do-don't you n-need t-to be at-t th-the d-district?" Jay questions.

"No, the others can handle it," Hailey tells him.

Jay looks at her, trying to tell if she's lying to him to make him feel better. Jay yawns, still tired from his unexpected swim.

"Go to sleep," Hailey tells him.

"Are you staying?" Jay asks.

"Mm-hm," Hailey hums. "Either Will or I will be here when you wake up," she assures him.

Jay nods the best he can under all of the blankets. It only takes a few minutes before Hailey hears his breathing has evened out.

* * *

Hailey watches him sleep, thinking about how different this could have turned out. Her thoughts are disrupted when Will enters the room sometime later.

"How is he?"

"He's okay. The last they checked his temperature, he was almost at 93," Hailey tells the worried older brother.

Will nods while feeling Jay's forehead, relieved to feel a slight warmth on his otherwise ice-cold skin. "Has he been sleeping the whole time?"

"Mostly, he was awake for a little while. I told him that one of us would be here when he woke up again," Hailey answers causing Will to nod. Jay moves his head towards Will in his sleep, sensing his brother's presence.

"He was asking for you earlier. I told him that you got paged, but I could get you. He said no."

"It's getting late, why don't you go get something to eat. I'll stay with him," Will offers when he notices the time.

"Okay, do you want me to grab you something?" Hailey asks standing up.

"No, I'm good."

"Sure, you are," Hailey replies when he is given away by his growing stomach. "Can he have anything?"

"No, someone will bring in broth for him in a bit," Will answers.

Hailey accepts his answer, leaving the room and heads to the cafeteria to get food for the two of them.

* * *

Once Hailey walks out of the room, Will notices Jay shifting in the bed, "Hey, Buddy. You're okay," he tells his younger brother.

"Will?"

"Yeah, it's me. Hailey will be back soon– she just went to grab something to eat."

"What's she getting?"

"I don't know, but you can have some broth when they dinner in for you."

"Not sick," Jay complains.

"I know, but your body went through something traumatic. If you handle that, you can have something solid tomorrow."

"Okay," Jay sighs, knowing it is not worth it to argue.

The brothers are interrupted when a nurse comes in to take his temperature again. The nurse once again runs the thermometer over his forehead, "93.7, your dinner should be in soon. Do you need anything else?"

Jay shakes his head no.

"Okay, if you do hit the call button," the nurse tells the brothers before leaving the room almost walking into Hailey who has dinner for Will and herself.

Hailey walks into the room after both mutter their apologies. "Hey, you're awake. How're feeling?"

"Still cold," Jay answers.

"But his temperature is still going up. A few more degrees and he's out of the hypothermia stage and will just have a low body temperature until it goes back to normal," Will adds.

"That's good. Here, I got you a sandwich," Hailey tells Will as she hands him the item.

"Thanks."

"No, Jay," she tells him when she notices the frozen detective giving her puppy eyes.

Jay sighs, knowing between his brother and partner he wasn't getting any real food. Before he can say anything, another nurse comes in with a bowl of soup on a tray. She places it on the movable tray in his room before leaving.

Jay attempts to grab the spoon, but his hands are still shaking too much. Seeing his problem, Will gets up and goes to the lounge room for staff and grabs a mug.

"Here, try this," Will tells Jay as he pours the broth into the mug for Jay to drink instead.

The mug makes it much easier for Jay to eat his broth and he finishes around the same time as his brother and Hailey.

* * *

Jay is once again asleep when Will notices Hailey yawning. "Go home," he tells her. "It's okay, I'm going to stay with him."

"Okay," she agrees, knowing that Will probably wants some time alone with his brother. "Call me if anything changes."

"I will, but he's going to be fine. He's out of the danger zone."

Hailey takes comfort in this and leaves the brothers alone.

* * *

Jay slept soundly through the night as if sensing that he was safe with his brother there, only somewhat coming to when the night nurse would check his temperature but Will managed to keep him from completely waking up.

In the morning, Jay's temperature is up to 96.7 and both Will and Marcel are comfortable with Jay being sent home once Hailey can come and give him a ride home during her lunch break.

Jay is given oatmeal for breakfast as it is hot and his body temperature is still a bit low. Once Jay eats, Will goes to the ED to work on Jay's insistence.

After Jay is certain that he is in the clear, he slowly gets up and changes into the sweats and hoodie that Will managed to find for him. Once he is changed, Jay looks out his room to make sure that he isn't going to be caught. He makes it about five steps out of his room before he hears a familiar voice.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hailey questions.

"For a walk?" Jay answers.

"You know you're lying to a detective and your partner, right?"

"Worth a try?"

"I figured you would try something like this," Hailey starts.

"Hailey, you know I hate hospitals."

"I know," she smiles. "That's why I came early. I had to come talk with a victim here and figured I can drop you off before I go back to the district."

"I can go to work," Jay argues.

"No, you're wearing sweats and you're still shivering."

"Hailey, come on."

"No, you can come back when Will clears you. Which will probably be in a day or two," Hailey reminds him.

"Fine," Jay gives up.

* * *

"Do you need anything before I go?" Hailey asks once dropping Jay at his apartment.

"No, I'm good. Thanks, Hailey," Jay tells her, referring to how Hailey drove him home, found blankets for him, and giving him hot chocolate– claiming that he can't have caffeine yet.

"Okay, I'll check on you later, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

* * *

"How's Halstead?" Kevin asks when Hailey returns to the district.

"He's okay. Still cold, but out of hypothermia range."

"When's he back?" Kim asks.

"When Will clears him. So, either tomorrow or the day after," Hailey answers.

"That's good. How's he doing with the whole doing nothing?"

"It's Jay. What do you think?"

"Good point."

* * *

Hailey opens the door to Jay's apartment using her key that he gave her for emergencies, not wanting to wake him in case he was sleeping.

She finds him sleeping on his couch where she left him. Making her way into his kitchen, Hailey pulls out a bowl and pours out some hot and sour soup from the Chinese takeout dish for Jay.

Hailey goes to wake Jay, placing a hand on his shoulder, causing him to shiver. "Jay, time to wake up. I brought you dinner."

"Hailey? What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you eat dinner."

"I don't need a babysitter," Jay rolls his eyes.

"I'm not your babysitter. I'm your friend who's concerned about your well-being. I know you would do the same thing for me."

"It's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

Hailey sighs, knowing she won't get any farther with him, she changes the subject. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm finally starting to warm up. Thanks for the soup."

"No problem. I'm glad you're okay. You scared me."

"Sorry."

"It's not you're fault. But that doesn't stop me from worrying. It just seems like you and Will have the worst luck," she jokes.

"It's called the 'Halstead Luck'," Jay answers her.

* * *

When Jay returns to work, two days later he is greeted by his co-workers teasing him about his unexpected swim.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversions:  
> 90= 32.2  
> 92= 33.3  
> 92.8= 33.8  
> 93= 33.9  
> 93.7= 34.3  
> 96.7= 35.9

**Author's Note:**

> Conversions:  
> 100.4= 38  
> 101.6= 38.7


End file.
